This past week during our first Conference Call of 2019, we discussed the continued lack of direction in the indexes and how the relative strength in Financial Services and Consumer Goods stocks was being offset by the weakness in IT and Energy.

By Friday we finally saw some rotation back into Energy, but there are signs that the major indices won't be off to the races just yet.

Andrew Adams is well known for his morning market commentary to thousands of financial advisors at Raymond James for many years. After working along side legendary strategist Jeff Saut, Andrew has started 2019 wearing his new trader hat. Andrew has wanted to go out on his own and trade full time and he has finally made that move. We here at Allstarcharts want to wish him the best of luck on his new endeavors. During this episode, Andrew tells us about his experiences at Raymond James, working with Jeff Saut, earning both his CFA and CMT designations, and now using this body of knowledge...

From the desk of Tom Bruni @BruniCharting

Tuesday I posted a mystery chart and asked you all to let me know what you would do. Buy, sell, or do nothing. By my unprecise and unscientific count, many of you said you'd do nothing and wait for the range to resolve itself, while others were anticipating a breakout.

So today, I want to reveal the full chart and share why I feel it's relevant.

Tuesday I posted a mystery chart and asked you all to let me know what you would do. Buy, sell, or do nothing. Many said that it looked like a downtrend and that a neutral/bearish approach appeared best. I agreed.

So today, I want to reveal the full chart and share why I feel it's relevant.

While I'm still not convinced we've seen "the" low in the recent correction/bear market, the recent daily price action of the indices sure is doing its best to chisel away at my resolve. And it at least has me considering adding some long exposure to my portfolio, if for no other reason than a hedge.

Earlier this week, All Star Charts published a free post titled A "Loco" Trade Idea. I liked the idea so much I'm gonna copy the guys and layer in a simple options play to take advantage of the outlook.

When it comes to stock market bellwethers, I can think of very few that are as important as J.P. Morgan Chase. If you look at a chart of the S&P500 going back decades and a chart of the JP Morgan, they look exactly the same. This brings me to our current dilemma. As J.P. Morgan goes, so goes the rest of the market right?

If that's the case, then this stock market has its work cut out for it. $JPM broke some serious support levels last month that have kept it below overhead supply, and that's a problem for the bulls.

From the desk of Tom Bruni @BruniCharting

One of my favorite exercises in our process is the use of "mystery charts." Essentially, we take out the x and y-axes and and all labels to eliminate any biases. The chart can be any security in any asset class on any timeframe on an absolute or relative basis. It can even be inverted.

The point here is to not guess what it actually is (though most of you will try), but instead to think about what you would do. Buy, Sell, or Do Nothing?

One of my favorite exercises in our process is the use of "mystery charts." Essentially, we take out the x and y-axes and and all labels to eliminate any biases. The chart can be any security in any asset class on any timeframe on an absolute or relative basis. It can even be inverted.

The point here is to not guess what it actually is (though most of you will try), but instead to think about what you would do. Buy, Sell, or Do Nothing?

Some of the most important stocks in the world are at such critical levels that we'd be fools to ignore it.

More specifically, I'm referring to Financials: Broker Dealers and Regional Banks in particular.

As we are all aware, Financials peaked in 2007 before the epic collapse throughout 2008 and into early 2009. The repercussions of those events were felt all over the world. Some people are calling for a repeat of that period. Could we actually see it? Maybe. But I think it's going to depend a lot on the outcome of the current battle taking place between buyers and sellers at one of the most critical levels in the history of these stocks.

From the desk of Tom Bruni @BruniCharting

As part of my weekly review I went through the entire S&P 1500 across on both the weekly and daily timeframes to identify long and short opportunities, as well as any major market themes.

Unfortunately the evidence is still mixed when it comes to the market's next directional move, but there was one chart that I wanted to point out because it reminded that opportunity can often lie where you least expect.

This weekend I was updating our chartbooks for members and preparing for Wednesday's Members-Only Conference Call when I stumbled upon a chart that's too good not to share.

It's a great trade idea, but it also is a great reminder that while the major stock market indexes may not be trending, there's still plenty of opportunity on both the long and short side of this "market of stocks".

In addition to broader indices, there are certain bellwether stocks we monitor continually to offer better clues as to the strength or weakness of the market. One such stock we monitor has not followed along with the prevailing winds in the market since the beginning of the year and according to our view, is at serious risk if the market were to pause and/or resume back to the downside.

From where I sit, the likelihood of a pause in this bounce is pretty high right now, and becomes even more so with each new closing high for 2019. So with the potential for a significant pullback rising, now feels like a great time to take a shot on a short position in this struggling bellwether.

The bounce in US stocks continues off the Christmas Eve low, but it is showing signs of short-term exhaustion. Does this mean we go right back to lows? Not necessarily. I'm in the camp that some sideways chop would be constructive for the markets overall. As such, I'm in the mode of looking for smart delta neutral trading plans.

From the desk of Tom Bruni @BruniCharting

Yesterday I discussed how we use ratio charts to identify trends for both trading opportunities and information that we can use to make inferences about the stock market's next major move. Today I want to look at an inter-market relationship between Base Metals and Precious Metals that may help provide information about where interest rates are headed.