TRADE IDEA OF THE WEEK IN KB HOME INC KBH!Overall we are seeing some weakness in the market right now. Something that we're seeing is a lot of the sector/stocks have rejected the 21 period moving average, which tells me that there's a somewhat good chance that we might go test the lows that were created 2 weeks ago. This stock KB HOME INC is an example of a stock that has rejected that 21 period moving average shown by the green line on the chart! If the market continues to show overall weakness this week, then this is a high probability setup to move lower and that's what we're banking on here.
Really the only sector that looks strong to us right now is the Semiconductor/Technology Sector. Stocks like NVDA, AMAT, ON, MU, etc. held up the market today from being even worse. Good luck to you all!
XHB
XHB $35.75: Consolidates above a 2-month range support at 35.01XHB has been consolidating within a 2-month range between March’s 35.01 low and the 37.31 YTD peak (March 31, 2015). While the 35.01 range support holds dips, back above the 36.59 resistance (April 16, 2015 high) would suggest basing and offer scope for further bullish momentum towards 37.31. Clearance above the latter is needed to complete the 2-month long consolidation and extend the uptrend trend higher. However, if bears manage to break below the key 35.01 support area (which houses the 89 day moving average) would signal near term topping and expose 33.73 (200 day moving average0.
Outlook:
Short term: Neutral
Long term: Bullish while the 200 day moving average holds
Lumber is Sinking – Is Housing Next?Earlier this month, the idea of lumber being a signal for economic data was brought to the table (here). Lumber is not necessarily a trader’s first go-to for evaluating economic forecasts, but there is a striking resemblance in trend for lumber and the ISM manufacturing PMI data. As lumber prices dive, manufacturing data tends to do the same (and vice versa). Lumber, reasonably so, is also correlated to housing; and the US cannot have a recovery without housing participating.
The housing data over the last few years has been lackluster, and today’s data is no exception. Housing starts contracted a whopping 17 percent. That’s 14.5 percent lower than general forecasts. Weather was cold, and it is always to blame.
However, analysts were already discounting the weather issue. Wall Street’s best and brightest were looking for a drop of only 2.5 percent, so clearly it is not just the weather. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, privately-owned housing starts were seasonally-adjusted at an annual rate of 897,000, or 17 percent below the revised January estimate. Single-family housing starts in February were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 697,000, or 14.9 percent below the revised January estimate. Not good.
Housing completions of privately-owned housing fell came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 850,000, or 13.8 percent below the revised January estimate of 986,000.
The “recovery” bulls will harp on the permits data which was three percent higher than the general consensus. But, let’s be objective. Permits do not particularly matter much because builders cannot sell permits. Building permits are also cyclical. They tend to rise to elevated levels on optimistic outlooks but then completely collapse right be for the next recession. Permits could continue to rise, but it is not indicative of a healthy housing sector, or economy for that matter.
umber has closed well-below the massive ascending channel created when prices bottomed in 2009. Currently trading at $270.90, lumber prices are down almost 14 percent since first bring more attention to lumber a month ago. The basic assumption is that low prices are great for builders and the housing sector in general, and they are at the margin. However, a trend shift in prices indicate that homebuilders are not purchasing lumber. Homebuilder confidence fell for a third consecutive month in March.
Prices saw a bit of support at $265 but could easily hit $245 on trend continuation. To illustrate the correlation of lumber to housing, check out lumber prices relative to the iShares DJ Home Construction ETF (ITB) and the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB). It’s not a perfect match, but it grasps the overall trend quite well. Notice the prices of lumber, ITB, XHB leading into the housing crisis – they collapsed. This time should be no different.
The two popular ETFs now trade at a premium to lumber prices, but the upward trajectory is stalling; and this is far likely contributed to Fed-induced buying (similar to the XLE and future prices). It is only a matter of time before housing ETFs begin to rollover, too.
Please check out bullion.directory for up-to-date news and analysis on precious metals, market sentiment, economics and central bank folly.
HD The Home Depot getting a trimmer for ChristmasTaking a little off the top at the psychological level of $100 with excess supply, lo demand, distribution & pro active selling signals. High average trade size today indicates trading desks were active. I didn't check LOW yet as it is not a holding. Just managing risk and will use an option strategy also. Targets noted. This may play out in January. Time to be a boy scout (be prepared).
False breakout...Housing SUCKS. This is the SLOW season coming up, to make it worse. New housing apps down to lowest level in forever, everything about housing SUCKS. GREAT SHORT HERE.
Update 11/21: I was a little early on this short! I was happy to buy a few cheap $33.5 weekly puts for next week. I typically don't like to buy options at the end of the week to carry into the next, but, this was one hell of a candlestick up, that hardly seems sustainable. But then again, I never thought the XHB would make it this far. This whole thing is being propped up with HFT/ALGO BS because the whole market s rigged. Look at all the mess: FOREX Scandel, Libor scandal, now the latest commodity scandel, Madoff, JP Morgan and all these banker deaths that seem all too conspicuous. ALL these unusual banker suicides 48 of them in the past year and a half, and now on last night who slit his own throat and wrists? Who does that to themselves? Ridiculous. Many of them at JP Morgan, some who knew each other, some in IT Programming. Probably knew too much. Did you know these institutions carry insurance policies on their employees that are classified? They have a motive to see them killed if they get in the way. THEY COLLECT. I'm not conspiratorial, it's just the way this screwed up place we call planet earth has become. Pretty sickening how greedy and selfish we can be at times. Anyway, this wasn't meant to be a diatribe. There are so many banking scandals it's sick. And none of them go to jail. They to big to fail, and to big to jail.
Update: Wow, who would have thought the ECB would finally juice the market, and China drops rates. Next up... does the FED juice the market to keep up? I am finally short XHB at 33.50. I hope there are no more surprises!
$XHB hold above $30I wrote back on 5/4 on my blog that "I'm standing by XHB" that I thought the negativity around housing was excessive and higher prices would eventually come our way. Some of the "smart" money on Wall Street was decisively negative. Among the stories predicting the fall in stock prices of the home builders included this one from Friday the 23rd.
Big investors are betting against housing (on marketwatch.com)
For now it looks like they may be on the wrong side of the trade. Two primary reasons: one fundamental and one technical.
On the fundamentals housing construction numbers from the Commerce Department were bullish as reported by Reuters:
Housing stocks rallied for a second day after data from the Commerce Department showed sales of new U.S. single-family homes rose more than expected in April and the supply of houses on the market hit a 3-1/2 year high. A day ago, another report showed existing home sales rebounded in April.
While demand is still healthy the chart indicated that the market is still bullish on housing. After printing generally lower prices for two months price hit $30 (the line of defense I cited in my post on May 4th), formed a "spinning top" indicating indecision and then rebounded hard this week.