TommyIV's TSP Talk Blog

A slight net loss ends a three week winning streak for stocks but also hides intra-week drama that divided the week between the bulls and the bears. The bulls had the week out of the gate and the S&P 500 was up more than 1% for the week by Tuesday. In the process stock indices passed the highs established early June. The gains were claimed to be unjustified by analysts that pointed to the top companies carrying the entire market. That became clear Thursday when a sell the news reaction to Microsoft's ...

Stock indices stretched higher to or near the June highs this week as earnings season kicks off. A significant reversal Monday after a strong open seemed to be the beginning of the end of stocks rally to the highs but again we saw the bears falter and the bulls prevail. Index prices were back trading around the highs by Wednesday and from there the price range tightened up for the rest of the week. Bank earnings debuted this week and the numbers were surprisingly positive for the most part. Fiscal ...

A second consecutive week of gains demonstrates the bull's resilience. The week began with a higher open but market's direction was not uniform day to day. The ongoing assessment of risk produced choppy action throughout the week; the S&P 500 even dropped sharply to negative territory early Thursday but quickly turned around into a rally that kept course for the rest of the week. Virus cases continue to add up in particular states threatening another economic shutdown. Investors are also beginning ...

Technical analysis is more psychological/sociological speculation on investors than an exact science of chart patterns. An index lets us (everybody) observe where others were willing to buy and sell in the past. Everybody wants a discount on what they think is the true value of stocks. The stock price at the end of the previous Friday and into Monday was a price buyers knew they could find a safe discounted entry. The highs Thursday morning was where sellers thought they could get their best price ...