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To The Breaking Point

This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of NorthmanTrader. To view original, click here. Opinions herein are not those of the Wall Street Examiner or Lee Adler. Reposting does not imply endorsement. The information presented is for educational or entertainment purposes and is not individual investment advice.

If you thought fundamentals, valuations and earnings growth matter the joke is on you.

In 2020 central banks have managed to do the unthinkable: Not only once again save investors from any damage in markets, but they intervened to such a degree that negative earnings growth is now the stuff of new record highs as well.

After all, never before have we seen indices vertically catapult to new record highs 2 years in a row on the cumulative reality of no earnings growth (2019) and negative earnings growth in 2020 with a multiple expansion of a near 50% in just 12 months with an unemployment rate of near 7% to boot.

As it’s all unprecedented it becomes a question of sustainability:

 

To get a visual appreciation of the vertical nature of the price action check a chart of small caps, up 17.5% on the year with negative earnings growth yet going vertical to new all time highs:

The chart apparently as vertical as the Citi Euphoria index:

If you are looking for precedence you will come up short as the vertical extension on some of these charts have no precedence.

Case in point, take a look at $RUT on a monthly basis:

The 10 MA oscillator has moved past the only to 2 previous all time extreme readings in the 15 range, now sitting above 21. Note the 2 previous occasions of extreme extensions above 15 resulted in an eventual reversal to and below the monthly 10MA.

Not only is the price action far extended, but price is entirely outside the monthly Bollinger band. As I outlined at the December 2018 bottom and again at the March 2020 bottom, markets don’t like technical imbalances, they lead to reversion and this market here is showing a historic imbalance as prices have been crashing to the upside.

And no, it’s not only small caps. Let me put this in a global context with the Dow Jones Global Index ($DJW) versus the monthly 20MA oscillator:

Not only is price entirely outside the monthly Bollinger band (which is unprecedented) but the monthly 20MA oscillator is at disconnect levels that has set up for reversions of size in the past.

While fundamentals, valuations and earnings growth haven’t mattered technicals are screaming for a coming reversion trade that will reconnect charts with basic moving averages. One of these will be the monthly 5 EMA. Here again the $RUT showing an over 13% disconnect from the monthly 5 EMA, a moving average that sees reconnects on a regular basis:

Something to keep in mind as markets are waiting for yet more stimulus into year end and the prospect of yet another Santa rally. Charts are stretched to the breaking point and reversion risk continues to build, hence from my perspective rallies remain selling opportunities for eventual technical reconnects. Ultimately these reconnects may offer long trade opportunities for new rallies or bounces, but for now these historic disconnects suggest the current trajectory to be unsustainable and a poor risk/reward proposition from the long side.

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