Finance Trends Letter

The latest edition of the Finance Trends Newsletter was sent out to subscribers on Thursday. If you would like to join our free email list and receive new updates, please subscribe via the title link. Our latest email report, " Going Outside Your Investing Comfort Zone " provides a brief update to this week's Amazon ( AMZN ) and Google ( GOOGL ) post. Namely, the question of how to step up to the plate and buy such high-priced stocks as they cross the $100, $200, or even the rarefied $1,000 per share mark. Here is an excerpt from our latest email update:  "... Now, I am slowly retraining myself to act on my analysis , even when it comes to buying very "high-priced" shares such as AMZN , PCLN , etc. As I remind myself lately, you don't need to take on a very large position, just buy a few shares and participate in the uptrend..."  "...While writing today's update, I had a chance to look back on a prior AMZN post and a big mi...

Amazon ( AMZN ) and Google ( GOOGL ) are set to join the $1000 per share club.  We last spoke of AMZN and GOOGL in our late April roundup of leading tech stocks making new highs .  You can also check our 2013 post, " Amazon: Long-Term AMZN Charts and Thoughts ", and revisit a time earlier in this bull market when the stock was trading near $350 a share.  One of my great errors of omission (failure to act) was in not purchasing AMZN shares after writing this post. The share price continued to climb steadily ( in fact, it has since tripled ) , confirming all the basic factors (retail dominance, AWS growth) laid out at that time.  Now, I am slowly retraining myself to act on my analysis , even when it comes to buying very "high-priced" shares such as AMZN , PCLN , etc. As I remind myself lately, you don't need to take on a very large position, just buy a few shares and participate in the uptrend.

The Nasdaq Composite ( COMPQX , IXIC ) topped 6,000 today, a record high for the tech-heavy index.  Here is an updated monthly chart ( click below ) of the Nasdaq from 1999 - 2017. You'll note that the prior dot com bubble peak of 5,132 in March 2000 was not topped until mid-2015. With this latest surge, the Nasdaq jumped over the 6k mark for the first time ever. Joining the Nasdaq at new all-time highs are many of the most actively traded US tech stocks.  Leading tech names such as Amazon ( AMZN ), Apple ( APPL ), Facebook ( FB ), Netflix ( NFLX) , Microsoft ( MSFT ), and Google ( GOOG, GOOGL ) are trading at, or very near, their all-time highs. See the Finviz charts below. Also joining the new highs parade are Tesla ( TSLA ), a tech company in the guise of a car manufacturer, payments processor Square ( SQ ), Pepsi ( PEP ), and omnipresent burger joint, McDonald's ( MCD ).  So we are seeing a bullish resumption of the upward trend in US stocks. The ...

NVIDIA ( NVDA ) shares have struggled to regain their former highs above $120. Has this new tech leader topped out or is the stock merely catching its breath and consolidating?  NVDA is currently trading around $100 after falling back below its 50 day moving average . The stock is currently down -6% YTD. As you'll note from the chart annotations ( click chart to enlarge ), this is the second time the stock has dipped below the 50 day MA since topping out in early February.  The stock made a short-term top at the end of 2016, with a bearish engulfing bar (the long red bar/candle on December 28, 2016). This down day marked the start of a brief decline, after which NVDA climbed back to challenge its former high. The stock failed to hold above the $120 level and quickly dropped back below its key moving averages. I should note that NVDA pulled back sharply below its 20 and 50 day MAs back in early 2016 . The stock soon bounced back and went on t o make multi-year h...

S&P 500 ETF, SPY trading at new highs (weekly chart below). Remember what the pundits said 3 months ago ("Trump crash!")... Markets shrug opinions. Subscribe to the free Finance Trends N e wsletter - you'll get actionable trading ideas and valuable market insights sent to your inbox. You can follow our real-time updates on Twitter .    

Semiconductor stocks have been one of the strongest groups in the stock market since mid-2016, when the S & P 500 recovered and started its march to new all-time highs.  You can see this clear uptrend taking shape in the annotated weekly chart ( below) of Semiconductor ETF, SMH . The chip stock rally is now broadening out. While big name stocks like Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) and Nvidia ( NVDA ) led the charge higher in 2016, lesser-known stocks like Brooks Automation ( BRKS ) and Kulicke and Soffa ( KLIC ) are now coming on strong and moving to multi-year highs. Let's view their charts. NVDA has been a powerful leader to the upside since 2015. After climbing through resistance and making a 5-year high in late 2015, NVDA had a throwback correction down to $25 level. The stock resumed its advance in early 2016, setting a new all-time high above $40 in May of that year. Since then, it has climbed over $100 and become one of the most widely watched and traded tec...

Stocks have rallied since the Trump election and the Dow ( DJIA ) just passed 20,000 for the 1st time ever, but there is one sector of the stock market that just won't join the party. Dow Jones at 20,000. Retail stocks continue to lag the overall market, a theme highlighted in our retail stock report from December 2016 . While the post-election period saw a boost for many industry groups and the leading stock indices, the consumer retail sector is showing further signs of deterioration.  Here's a technical snapshot of some of the leading mainstream retailers and retail brands. Included are charts of Nike ( NKE ), Under Armour, ( UAA ), Ralph Lauren ( RL ), Macy's ( M ), Wal-Mart ( WMT ), Target ( TGT ), Kohl's ( KSS ), and Dollar Tree ( DLTR ). Retail stocks continue to under perform the overall market. While the market has been offering up many opportunities in stronger groups such as financial services, banks, steel, construction, chemical stocks, s...