By Robert W. Colby, Senior Analyst TraderPlanet.com

Inflation Indications.


CRB commodity price index made a new all-time high.

Gold made another new all-time high.

Materials Sector Relative Strength rose to a new all-time high.

The U.S. dollar fell to a new six-week low.

On Monday, major stock price indexes gapped higher on the open following pre-open news that IBM expects a moderate upside 4Q earnings surprise, above analysts estimates. Prices soon turned choppy and erratic after that upside open, but still managed to close modestly higher than the open, although down from the highest levels of the day. Volume on the NYSE fell 19%, with 2.4 times more upside volume than downside volume. But the relatively low total volume suggests something less than whole-hearted confidence in the rally attempt.

Steep short-term downtrend lines were broken last week. Downward price momentum has slowed since the low at 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, 1/9/07. It appears that the stock market could be building and testing some kind of a technical base which could lead to a further oversold bounce attempt. But at the same time, underlying fundamental trends appear hostile to stocks. Relatively weak economic and corporate earnings reports appear probable for the weeks ahead. Bottom fishing should be attempted only with protective stops.

Spotlight on event stocks: Here is a stock screen I designed to pick out potential “event” stocks, both Bullish and Bearish. Sometimes, stocks with large changes in price and volume are revealed to be deal stocks, sooner or later, or are the subject of some other extraordinary events, positive or negative.


Bullish Stocks: Rising Price and Rising Volume
% Price Change, Symbol, Name

1.13% , KLD , LargeCap Blend Socially Responsible iS, KLD
7.69% , SANM , SANMINA
2.23% , XSD , Semiconductor SPDR, XSD
0.79% , ELV , Value Large Cap DJ, ELV
7.61% , BIG , BIG LOTS
1.01% , IYY , LargeCap Blend Total Market DJ, IYY
4.12% , EWT , Taiwan Index, EWT
4.45% , BEAS , BEA Systems Inc
5.12% , MLNM , Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc
5.39% , IBM , IBM
3.20% , HUM , HUMANA
1.41% , IIH , Internet Infrastructure H, IIH
3.43% , IACI , IAC/INTERACTIVCORP
0.99% , EWP , Spain Index, EWP
2.48% , LSI , LSI LOGIC
3.19% , BMC , BMC SOFTWARE
6.65% , SNDK , SanDisk Corporation
1.23% , FEU , Value LargeCap Euro STOXX 50 DJ, FEU
1.08% , FPX , IPOs, First Tr IPOX-100, FPX
2.68% , IGN , Networking, IGN
4.39% , PH , PARKER HANNIFIN
1.37% , ELG , Growth Large Cap, ELG
4.67% , AMP , Ameriprise Financial Inc.
4.31% , APC , ANADARKO PETRO
1.63% , BIIB , BIOGEN IDEC
2.20% , PWV , Value LargeCap Dynamic PS, PWV
0.91% , TBH , Telebras HOLDRS, TBH*
3.97% , NWL , NEWELL RUBBER
1.50% , FDV , Value 40 Large Low P/E FT DB, FDV
1.51% , PWP , Value MidCap Dynamic PS, PWP
1.31% , TMW , Wilshire 5000 ST TM, TMW
1.07% , JKG , MidCap Blend Core iS M, JKG
1.48% , RYAAY , Ryanair Holdings plc
3.93% , RDC , ROWAN COMPANIES
1.38% , PWT , Growth SmallCap Dynamic PS, PWT
5.72% , HPC , HERCULES
3.47% , APA , APACHE
1.48% , ONEQ , Growth LargeCap NASDAQ Fidelity, ONEQ
5.46% , KG , KING PHARM
2.29% , SNPS , Synopsys Inc
1.20% , VUG , Growth VIPERs, VUG
6.08% , DE , DEERE & CO
1.06% , XLG , LargeCap Rydex Rus Top 50, XLG
3.57% , ATI , ALLEGHENY TECH
2.56% , ADI , ANALOG DEVICES
2.27% , IYZ , Telecom DJ US, IYZ
2.06% , LVLT , LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS
0.71% , IWB , LargeCap 1000 R, IWB
1.32% , PBW , WilderHill Clean Energy PS, PBW
1.24% , PZI , Micro Cap Zachs, PZI

Bearish Stocks: Falling Price and Rising Volume
% Price Change, Symbol, Name

-12.75% , CPWR , COMPUWARE
-7.97% , SGP , SCHERING PLOUGH
-4.98% , SHLD , SEARS HOLDINGS
-2.57% , DISH , EchoStar Communications Corporation
-0.94% , MYY , Short 100% MidCap 400, MYY
-0.13% , IYK , Consumer Non-Cyclical, IYK
-0.41% , LQD , Bond, Corp, LQD
-1.10% , SH , Short 100% S&P 500, SH
-1.04% , VRSN , VeriSign Inc
-1.18% , JBL , JABIL CIRCUIT
-2.18% , SSCC , Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation
-3.99% , SNV , SYNOVUS
-0.74% , ESRX , EXPRESS SCRIPTS
-1.27% , MRK , MERCK & CO
-2.34% , PAYX , PAYCHEX
-1.93% , HOLX , Hologic, Inc., HOLX
-1.52% , EBAY , EBAY
-2.59% , COST , COSTCO WHOLESAL
-1.86% , FISV , FISERV
-1.55% , WYNN , Wynn Resorts L
-1.80% , MTB , M&T BANK
-1.10% , TE , TECO ENERGY
-1.07% , WHR , WHIRLPOOL
-1.76% , DRI , DARDEN REST
-4.21% , COH , COACH
-0.98% , AET , AETNA
-0.42% , NI , NISOURCE
-2.14% , ADP , AUTOMATIC DATA
-0.98% , PPH , Pharmaceutical H, PPH
-1.97% , GRMN , GARMIN LTD
-0.27% , RWR , REIT Wilshire, RWR
-0.69% , EWS , Singapore Index, EWS
-1.05% , HRB , H&R BLOCK
-0.47% , SOV , SOVEREIGN BANC
-0.86% , MDT , MEDTRONIC
-0.40% , AW , ALLIED WASTE IND
-0.77% , XLV , Health Care SPDR, XLV
-0.40% , VHT , Health Care VIPERs, VHT
-0.70% , PWER , POWER ONE
-0.18% , XLP , Consumer Staples SPDR, XLP
-0.42% , CNP , CENTERPNT ENERGY
-0.30% , ABI , Applera Corp-Applied Biosystems Group (ABI)
-0.30% , AYE , ALLEGHENY ENERGY
-0.06% , IVGN , Invitrogen Corporation
-0.27% , FRX , FOREST LABS STK A
-1.03% , MCK , MCKESSON CORP
-0.20% , MOT , MOTOROLA
-1.36% , K , KELLOGG
-2.28% , CAG , CONAGRA FOODS
-0.12% , IBB , Biotechnology, IBB

Sectors: among the 9 major U.S. sectors, 7 rose and 2 fell.
Major Sectors Ranked for the Day
% Price Change, Sector

3.35% Materials
2.02% Technology
1.98% Energy
1.38% Financial
1.23% Industrial
0.96% Consumer Discretionary
0.14% Utilities
-0.18% Consumer Staples
-0.77% Health Care

Looking beyond the daily fluctuation to the major trends (listed in order of long-term relative strength):

Energy (XLE) Bullish, Overweight. On 1/3/08, both XLE Price and Relative Strength made new all-time highs. XLE has been strong compared to the S&P since 3/12/03.

Utilities (XLU) Bullish, Overweight. This defensive sector performs best when investors worry about a recession. Relative Strength made a new all-time high on 1/9/08, and Price made a new all-time high on 12/10/07.

Materials (XLB) Bullish, Overweight. The XLB/SPY Relative Strength Ratio made a new all-time high on 1/14/08. Price made new all-time high on 10/29/07. The long-term Relative Strength trend has strongly outperformed since 9/27/2000.

Health Care (XLV) Bullish, Overweight. XLV price moved up to a new 6-month high on 12/3/07. Relative Strength moved up to a new 26-month high on 1/11/08.

Consumer Staples (XLP) Bullish, Overweight. This defensive sector performs best when investors worry about a recession. Price made a new all-time high on 12/10/07, and Relative Strength made a new 3-year high on 1/9/08.

Technology (XLK) Bearish, Underweight. On 1/8/08, price made a new 4-month low. On 1/11/08, Relative Strength made a new 3-month low. XLK/SPY has underperformed since 11/5/07.

Industrial (XLI) Bearish, Underweight. On 1/8/08, price made a new 4-month low. On 1/11/08, Relative Strength made a new 6-month low. XLI/SPY has underperformed since 8/3/07.

Consumer Discretionary (XLY) Bearish, Underweight. On 1/11/08, the XLY/SPY Relative Strength Ratio fell to its lowest level in 6 years. On 1/9/08, XLY price made a new 41-month low. Relative Strength has been trending down since 1/5/05.

Financial (XLF) Bearish, Underweight. On 1/8/08, Relative Strength fell to a new 7-year low, and Price fell to a new 3-year low, thereby confirming a Bearish major trend.

Foreign stock indexes recovered moderately a day after falling to a new 5-month price low. The EFA (the EAFE, international developed country stock markets, ex the U.S. and Canada) underperformed since 11/27/07. Previously, EFA outperformed from 2002 to 11/27/07.

NASDAQ Composite and NASDAQ 100 Relative Strength fell to new 3-month lows on 1/11/08. Both have underperformed the S&P since 11/7/07.

Growth Stock/Value Stock Relative Strength Ratio has been struggling choppy sideways since 11/7/07. Still, the long-term main trend for the Growth/Value ratio (IWF/IWD) has been rising since 8/8/06.

The Small Cap/Large Cap Relative Strength Ratio broke down to a new 2.5-year low on 1/11/07. It has been trending down since 4/19/06. The main long-term trend is Relatively Bearish for Small Caps.

Crude Oil Futures rose with an Inside Day. Oil’s short-term trend looks questionable, but its main long-term trend remains Bullish. The U.S. OIL FUND ETF (AMEX: USO) is not a pure play on Crude Oil, although it generally moves in the same direction.

The Energy stock sector has outperformed Crude Oil since 11/26/07.

February Gold Futures made another new all-time high. On 1/8/08, Gold penetrated resistance at its all-time high at 875 set on 1/21/80. Gold’s main trend remains obviously Bullish.

Silver’s main trend is Bearish compared to Gold. The iShares Silver Trust (AMEX: SLV) has been relatively weak since 12/7/06.

The Gold Miners ETF (GDX) made a new price high on 1/14/08 but still has underperformed Gold since 10/31/07.

Inflation expectations rose sharply for the day. But still they have been weak since the peak on 11/12/07, based on the behavior of the ratio of two ETFs, TIP/IEF.

U.S. Treasury Bond prices recovered part of Thursday’s loss. Bonds’ short-term trend appears questionable, but the main long-term trend remains Bullish. Bonds remain reactive to news about the credit crisis: the worse the credit crisis, the higher the Bond prices; the better the credit crisis, the lower the Bond prices.

The U.S. dollar fell to a new six-week low, confirming downtrend. Support is at the oversold low at 74.65 set on 11/23/07. There could be overhead resistance at the 77.86 high of 12/20/07. The main trend remains Bearish.

The Art of Contrary Thinking: The mood has been moving away from optimism as stock prices move lower. Sentiment is far from a level associated with extreme pessimism. So, crowd psychology could get more Bearish before it is over. The business and financial news has flipped from Bearish to Bullish and back again. Investors’ moods and stock volatility have jumped up and down abruptly with the latest news. When everything shifts so dramatically from one day to the next, risk control becomes more important than aggressive profit seeking. Stay flexible.

Sentiment/Contrary Opinion: Bullish opinion is moderately below normal. According to the weekly Investors Intelligence newsletter survey as of 1/2/08, there were 48.4% Bulls and 25.8% Bears. The ratio of Bullish advisors to Bearish advisors fell to 1.88 to 1, which below its 4-year simple moving average at 2.14 and its 4-year median at 2.17. The ratio’s 4-year range is 1.00 to 3.46.

VIX “Fear Index”, now at 22.90, down from 25.43 on 1/8/08, is relatively normal by Bear Market standards (around 20 to 40), but relatively high by Bull Market standards (around 10 to 20). VIX peaked at 31.09 on 11/12/07 and bottomed at 18.47 on 12/21/07. Longer term, VIX has been in a rising trend since it hit a 13-year low of 9.89 on 1/24/07. The all-time high was 45.74 on 10/8/98. VIX is a market estimate of expected constant 30-day volatility, calculated by weighting S&P 500 Index CBOE option bid/ask quotes spanning a wide range of strike prices for the two nearest expiration dates.

VXN “Fear Index”, now at 28.08, down from 30.77 on 1/8/08, is relatively low by Bear Market standards (around 35 to 80), but relatively high by Bull Market standards (around 12 to 26). VXN peaked at 34.94 on 11/12/07 and bottomed at 20.90 on 12/21/07. Longer term, VXN has been in a rising trend since it hit its all-time low of 12.61 on 7/29/05. The all-time high was 114.23 on 10/8/98. VXN measures Nasdaq Volatility using a method comparable to that used for VIX.

CBOE Put/Call Ratio rose to 0.97 on 1/8/07, indicating pessimistic sentiment. It is above its 4-year simple moving average and median at 0.62. That means there was more trading activity in put options and less in call options than normal. Its 4-year range is 0.35 to 1.28.

ISEE Call/Put Ratio fell to 0.72 on 1/9/07, indicating pessimistic sentiment. It is below its 4-year simple moving average at 1.50 and its 4-year median at 1.47. That means customers opened fewer long call options and more long put options than normal. Its 4-year range is 0.51 to 3.04.

Fundamentals: The 2003-2007 Bull Market was fed by abundant global liquidly, M&A, leveraged buyouts, corporate stock buybacks, and the net balance of positive earnings surprises. The unfolding fallout from the subprime credit market crisis appears to have derailed that engine. Economic statistics are weakening and at the same time inflation is rising, suggesting Stagflation.

Daily Rankings of Major Global Markets, Ranked from Strongest to Weakest of the Day:

4.12% Taiwan
3.67% Chemicals
3.56% Sweden
3.35% Materials
3.04% Semiconductors
2.94% Hardware
2.73% Computer Tech
2.55% Natural Gas
2.48% Network
2.48% Oil Services
2.44% Commodity Related
2.28% Paper
2.27% Dow Transports
2.26% Broker Dealers
2.20% Internet
2.19% Airlines
2.13% Netherlands
2.06% France
2.02% Technology
1.99% Austria
1.98% Energy
1.90% Nasdaq 100
1.90% Gold Mining
1.82% Germany
1.72% Italy
1.72% Switzerland
1.70% Australia
1.68% DOT
1.57% Nasdaq Composite
1.52% Retailers
1.52% Belgium
1.39% Dow Composite
1.38% Financial
1.36% Dow Industrial
1.25% Japan
1.23% Industrial
1.21% Oil
1.19% United Kingdom
1.14% S&P 100
1.13% S&P Small Caps
1.11% Russell 2000
1.09% S&P 500
1.09% Disk Drives
1.06% Russell 1000
1.06% Russell 3000
1.03% S&P Mid Caps
1.02% Wilshire 5000
1.00% Value Line
0.99% Spain
0.98% NYSE Composite
0.96% Consumer Discretionary
0.91% Brazil
0.88% Canada
0.83% Swiss Franc
0.80% South Korea
0.80% 30Y T-Bond
0.72% Malaysia
0.70% Australian Dollar
0.69% Japanese Yen
0.57% Euro Index
0.47% Insurance
0.42% Hong Kong
0.41% Dow Utilities
0.23% Banks
0.22% AMEX Composite
0.19% Canadian Dollar
0.14% Utilities
0.00% British Pound
-0.01% Biotechs
-0.11% Hospitals
-0.17% REITs
-0.18% Consumer Staples
-0.44% Mexico
-0.48% Health Care
-0.50% Health Care Products
-0.54% US Dollar Index
-0.69% Singapore
-0.71% Drugs
-0.77% Health Care