This post is not about charts, but rather about magazine covers that tell a story of market sentiment. One of the magazine covers that always catches my attention is Barron’s which is released every Saturday of the week.
As you can see in the big picture above (Barron’s March 9th, 2009 cover) shows a Bull lying dead on the floor as if he had fallen of the Empire State Building. It was official, Barron’s had declared the bull dead. Coincidentally, that very same month, the market proceeded to begin what would be a multi-month massive snap back rally.
Having picked up this weekend’s copy of Barron’s (the smaller picture of a bear being run over by a bus being driven by a bull of course), immediately brought a cynical laugh to my otherwise boring Saturday morning.
This cover makes me think that market sentiment may now be at or near extreme levels (just like in March 09). If I could stand on the rooftops and shout a piece of advice at the mom and pop investors of the world, it would be to tread the markets very lightly right now or even get to a position of protection.
Come on Barron’s. Fool us once, shame on you. Fools us twice….I don’t think so. Are you here to completely destroy the retail investing public?
Now, this post is not meant to rouse up all the conspiracy theorists but I think active traders need to look at this overtly bullish market sentiment with a glass half empty approach. With the markets having retraced a lion’s share of the 2008 massacre not to mention we are just a stone’s throw away from the 200 Day Moving average (in the S&P’s) traders need to be ready for a potential multi-week/month turn here in the markets as this would not be completely unexpected.
Stay tuned to see how this story develops and thanks Barron’s for what I’m sure will amount to another disaster of cover story.
