Dow Jones predictions: The Dow appears to have broken through the top of the Channel formation that fell in the 20,800-21,000 ranges. If it closes above 21,300 on a monthly basis then despite the markets being overbought, the Dow could surge past 22K before running into a strong zone of resistance. Market Update June 18, 2017
Give the resiliency of this market; the Dow could very easily trade to 22K before it trades to 19K. The masses need to show some enthusiasm; if they don’t and the market pulls back strongly, then it has to be viewed as a screaming buy. For now, the masses seem to be locked in the pessimistic mode.
The bullish sentiment has never traded to the 60% ranges even once this year; it did not even make it to the 55% ranges, and that is very telling. On the same token, the number of individuals in the neutral camp has generally continued to trend higher and higher. Market Update July 6, 2017
What’s next for the Dow Jones?
Not only did the Dow Jones trade to 22K but it surpassed this target and is now dangerously close to striking 23K. The sentiment is still not bullish, so the path of least resistance is upward. As for Dow 30K; there is a good chance that the Dow could strike this target. We discuss that in full detail in this article titled “Dow Could Trade to 30K But not before This Happens ”
If you prefer to watch a video; then the video covers the essential points of the above article
Dow forecast by longforecast.com
2020/01/03. Dow Jones Industrial Average index forecast for next months and years.
Dow Jones forecast for January 2020.
The forecast for beginning of January 28538. Maximum value 29368, while minimum 26044. Averaged index value for month 27914. Index at the end 27706, change for January -2.9%.
DJIA forecast for February 2020.
The forecast for beginning of February 27706. Maximum value 28512, while minimum 25284. Averaged index value for month 27100. Index at the end 26898, change for February -2.9%.
Dow Jones forecast for March 2020.
The forecast for beginning of March 26898. Maximum value 29007, while minimum 25723. Averaged index value for month 27248. Index at the end 27365, change for March 1.7%. Read More
Dow forecast by investinghaven.com
Our Dow Jones forecast for 2020 and 2021 is strongly bullish. We expect the Dow Jones to peak near 32,000 points in 2020. It will continue its rise in 2021. We forecast a crash in the Dow Jones in 2022. Investors should get the maximum out of the bullish potential from our Dow Jones forecast for 2020 and 2021. Note that this another critical piece in our annual series of forecasts because it paints a very clear picture of our general market forecasts for 2020: bullish stock market (not only this bullish Dow Jones forecast but all global stock markets), bullish peak in precious metals, some commodities bullish, strongly bullish crypto markets.
Why This Dow Jones Prediction?
What we are really interested in is to understand whether the stock bull market is the place to be invested in for 2020 and 2021. We want to be invested in bull market trends, and the Dow Jones prediction will help with this.
As said before we are on the lookout of markets that become a multi bagger in 6 to 9 months time. We committed before on this: Forecasting The 3 Top Opportunities Per Year Becomes Invsting Haven’s Mission. If we get the high level trend right we can know in which direction to look for these extraordinary returns. Read More
The data below serves as further proof that the economic recovery is nothing but an illusion. It has only benefited those who don’t really need it. The rich have become even richer, the middle class has vanished and the poor are becoming even poorer.
Real incomes have been flat to down slightly for the average household in the bottom 60% since 1980 (while they have been up for the top 40%).
Those in the top 40% now have on average 10 times as much wealth as those in the bottom 60%. That is up from six times as much in 1980.
Only about a third of the bottom 60% saves any of its income (in cash or financial assets).
Only about a third of families in the bottom 60% have retirement savings accounts—e.g., pensions, 401(k)s—which average less than $20,000.
For those in the bottom 60%, premature deaths are up by about 20% since 2000. The biggest contributors to that change are an increase in deaths by drugs/poisoning (up two times since 2000) and an increase in suicides (up over 50% since 2000).
The top 40% spend four times more on education than the bottom 60%.
The average household income for main income earners without a college degree is half that of the average college graduate.
Since 1980, divorce rates have more than doubled among middle-aged whites without college degrees, from 11% to 23%.
The number of prime-age white men without college degrees not in the labor force has increased from 7% to 15% since 1980. Full Story
What should you do?
Sentiment indicates the masses are not bullish so this market is not ready to crash. Instead of panicking make a list of stocks you would like to own and when the market’s pullback, buy these quality stocks at a huge discount.
The Stock Market is going to Crash; that’s the rubbish experts want you to believe
One jackass (oops we mean expert) after another, has been predicting that a Stock Market Crash is coming. The problem is that these brain surgeons have been making this argument for so long it almost sounds like the definition of insanity. Insanity boils down to doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a new outcome. These predictions are so off the mark that they make a broken clock look fantastic which happens to be right once or twice a day depending on whether you follow military time or not.
Some Experts point out that Warren Buffet is betting on a Stock Market Crash
This claim is based on the fact that Buffett is sitting on $86 billion in cash. They use this information to create the illusion that this Buffett Indicator 2019 is predicting a stock market crash.
To us, this seems like the ramblings of an insane individual. Just because Warren Buffett is sitting on billions of cash does not mean he is waiting for the market to crash. He is probably waiting for a good deal; that’s all.
Some might point out that it’s the biggest hoard of cash the company has ever built up and that this indicates that Buffett is nervous. Being nervous does not equate to betting on a stock market crash. Buffett is a valuable player and he is looking for a deal, so correction not crash might be all he is waiting for.
Buffett Does not believe stocks are overpriced; hence he is not expecting a stock market crash
While Buffett agrees the market can go through a period of turbulence, he stated that “no one can tell you when these traumas occur.”
“American business—and consequently a basket of stocks—is virtually certain to be worth far more in the years ahead. Innovation, productivity gains, entrepreneurial spirit and an abundance of capital will see to that,” Buffett said.
Bottom Line Buffett would view these pullbacks that could range from mild to extreme as buying opportunities and so do we.
The Buffett Indicator of 2019 Is Predicting a Stock Market Crash theory is not valid based on Market Sentiment
This market is unlike any other market; it has moved from being the most hated bull market to the most insane bull market (fanaticism stock market crash) of all time. In such an environment technical analysis is technically trash and fundamentals are fundamentally flawed. In fact, for the most part, market technicians have no idea of what they are talking about; they figure that by studying someone else theory or drawing squiggly lines on some chart they can decipher the market.
We have dealt with at least 15 so-called expert technicians who claimed to have found the Holy Grail; in the end, their theory was full of holes and could not account for sudden and rapid trend changes. Technical’s do not drive the markets, and neither do fundamentals; emotions drive the market. Understand the emotion, and you can identify the trend. Identify the trend, and you can determine the primary direction of the market. If the trend is up, then you don’t need to worry about crashes or correction; the market will not crash when the primary trend is up. It will, however, experience corrections, all of which will prove to be buying opportunities until the trend changes.
Simple, prudent money management skills will protect your profits and reduce your losses. Fundamental analysis is even worse; at least technical analysis can be useful when combined with sentiment analysis. Fundamentals boil down to pouring over standard data, and you are usually looking at what happened and not what will happen. We will not spend more time on that topic as in our opinion fundamental analysis is in today’s markets is a total waste of time.
The NASDAQ achieved a very important milestone and does not support a Stock Market Crash Scenario
Experts almost always fall into the category of “all talk but no action.”
What many experts fail to understand is that a bull market starts only after the old high has been taken out. Until that occurs, it’s not a real bull market. In that sense, the NASDAQ bull has just started. For over 15 years the NASDAQ struggled to overcome this hurdle. Jack in the box is what comes to mind; so like a coiled spring, it is ready to trade a lot higher before it breaks down. The NASDAQ has already broken past the psychologically (contrarian investing) significant 6000 level, so the odds are fair to high that it should roughly double from its breakout point; a move to the 9000-10,000 ranges might appear insane now. Experts would have felt the same way if someone told them that the Dow would be trading past 21K after it dropped below 7,000 in 2009.
Don’t expect the upward journey to be smooth; the higher the Nasdaq trades, the more volatile the ride will be. In the interim, it would not surprise us if the Nasdaq eventually dropped down to the 5200-5400 ranges with a possible overshoot to 5,0000 before testing 6700.
The Crowd is Nervous Proving that Stock Market crash Mantra is Not Valid
Sentiment continues to paint a fascinating picture as it indicates that for the 1st time in decades the crowd is not driven by panic or euphoria.They are uncertain, and uncertainty is the 1st stage of fear, indicating that the markets are a very long way off from hitting the Euphoric zone.
Overall, looking at the situation from a mass psychology perspective what we stated in 2014, 2015 and 2016, continues to hold; this bull market could end up running a lot higher than the most ardent of bulls could ever envision. It has already caught some of the most ardent of bulls by surprise; some of them even turned negative this January.
“I have a little bit in my checking [account], a little bit in my savings,” Coomer, a grandma of three who still works 55 hours a week at the gas station, told CNNMoney. Coomer is part of over half of America that has $0 invested in the stock market, as research reports and surveys have found. One survey from Bankrate found that 54% of Americans have no money in the stock market.
That means no money in pension funds, 401(k) retirement plans, IRAs, mutual funds or ETFs. “For the majority of the people here, the stock market is something interesting to look at,” says Chuck Caudill, general manager of the local newspaper, The Beattyville Enterprise.
Therefore until the masses embrace the market, this bull will trend a lot higher as the only way the top players can bank their paper profits is to unload these shares onto the unsuspecting masses. Many would point out that the masses are broke. Banks and various lending clubs are already offering unsecured personal loans ranging from $2,000 all the way to $100,000. However, we expect the rates to drop even further but more importantly supportive documentation requirements will be dropped to a bare minimum. We will move back to the era of Liar Loans
Two factors invalidate the Buffett Indicator Is Predicting a Stock Market Crash Hypothesis
A back breaking correction needs at least two elements; the masses should be euphoric, and the market needs to be trading in the extremely overbought ranges. At the moment, the market satisfies only one of these conditions. A small wave of selling will propel the masses into the hysteria zone, which will create a mouth-watering opportunity. Markets don’t crash when the masses are in disarray; they crash when the crowd is jumping up with Joy. The experts will probably confuse the next correction for a crash, but what can one expect from individuals who have been on the wrong side of this Bull market since its inception.
Naysayers are trying to Con the Masses into Believing a Stock Market Crash is around the Corner
This Video Illustrates How the Crowd is manipulated: Fear Mongers love to sell Stock Market Crash and other Doomsday scenarios. Misery Loves Company so don’t fall for the nonsense that the Buffett indicator is predicting a stock market Crash mumbo jumbo prediction. Instead, try to view stock market crashes as buying opportunities for until Fiat is eliminated the markets will always trend upwards.
Stock Market Crash 2017 boils down to all bark and no bite
For the past few years much the angst of many experts we have consistently stated that the markets were not ready to crash. Moreover, we believe that Experts are not Smart Enough to Spot Stock Market Crash 2017. If they were they would not have made the same predictions in 2014, 2015 and 2016. All these predictions of disasters proved to be nothing but idle chatter.
From late 2016 to early 2017, many former Bulls who predicted the direction of this market quite well, suddenly decided that the stock market was ready to crash. We, however, begged to differ, and we provided two very simple reasons for our stance.
Experts Fail To Realise that Emotions drive the markets:
The masses have remained nervous throughout this bull run; no bull market has ever ended when the masses are nervous. History indicates that stock market crashes begin on a euphoric note and end on a note of hysteria.
The trend clearly states that the Experts are on the wrong side of the Stock Market Crash 2017 argument
We focus more on the psychology of the masses than on any other single factor. However, the 2nd most important factor is the trend. The trend has remained positive throughout this bull run; occasionally it has moved into the neutral zone, but it has never turned negative. We are not talking about the trend based on the drawing of simple trend lines but one that is calculated utilizing several factors one of which happens to price action.
So when the experts started to scream over and over again about the impending stock market crash of 2017; these are some of the comments we recently made to our readers and or subscribers
Let the experts sing their songs of doom and con the masses; it takes two to tango, one to cry and three to have a party. We have experts from the technical analysis side and experts employing fundamentals trying to use to back their faulty assertions. Unfortunately for these penguins both of them are wrong. They have failed to pay attention to the psychological factor. There is no factor more important when it comes to playing the markets then market psychology. Market Update April 30, 2017
The market marches to its beat and those that resist are drained; financially speaking that is. We are not fortune tellers; we reserve that noteworthy task for the experts who seem to take delight on spewing rubbish week after week. The media then regurgitates this rubbish, and a jackass is suddenly made to look like a movie star. What a wonderful world we live in and people wonder why they lose money after listening to these wise men.
We, on the other hand, prefer to listen to what the market is saying and that is why we never listen to our gut instinct or let our emotions into the equation. We look for trends. Market Update May 19, 2017
What’s The most nonplussing factor in this bull market?
The emotional state of the masses; the herd, for the most part, has been oscillating back and forth from the neutral to the Bearish camps; very few have dared to venture into the bullish camp. This probably explains why the bullish readings never even came close to testing the 60% ranges for the past 15 weeks and counting. During that time the market has been trending higher and higher. This has caught many an expert with his pants down. But there is no surprise here; the reason as we have stated so many times over and over again is that the Crowd is not euphoric and the trend is still bullish.
The same pattern holds true for most of 2015 and 2016; the number individuals in the Bearish and neutral camps outnumbered those in the bullish camp. If you are in the Neutral camp one of two things one of two things apply; you are either are a bear that got burned or Bull with no courage to take a position.
Our proprietary sentiment indicator also confirms that the masses are still antsy.
Market Structure
If the markets were extremely overbought, then it should be almost impossible to find stocks that are trading in the oversold ranges on the monthly charts. On a monthly chart, each bar represents one month’s worth of data on; these charts provide great clues of what to expect from the markets.
In the Dow, we spotted several stocks that were trading in the extremely oversold ranges to oversold ranges on the monthly charts. AAPL, HD, DIS and NKE are examples of such stocks.
We also examined roughly 150 random Midcap to large cap stocks (ETF’s were included in this analysis) from various sectors; we found that almost 60% of the stocks examined were trading in the oversold ranges; one ETF that caught our eye was IBB; it is trading in the extremely oversold ranges.
We also noted that the net number of new 52 week highs continuously exceeded the net number of new 52 week lows. Why is this important? It indicates that the internal structure of the market is healthy.
Tactical investors Alternative Dow theory states that the experts have it wrong
Our stance for the past 11 years has been that the Dow Theory is dead; we provided an alternative Dow Theory that has proven to be far more accurate than the original. This theory states that it is the utilities that should be followed and not the transports. We will cover this in more detail in a follow-up article next week. In essence, it is the Utilities that lead the way and not the transports.
The utilities started to consolidate roughly from Aug of 2016 and bottomed out in Nov 2016 and had consolidated for roughly three months before they started to trend upwards. The utilities are now surging to new highs, and this bodes well for the overall market. The alternative theory states that the Dow should follow suit.
This is a mature bull market so one should not expect it to trend in one direction only; it will experience several corrections ranging from mild to severe. Unfortunately, the Dr’s of doom will confuse this correction for a crash as they have mistakenly done so for the past eight years and counting. When the masses embrace this market, the end will be close at hand; until then strong corrections should be embraced.
There is a lag period between the utilities and the Dow; sometimes it comes down to just a few weeks, but usually, it ranges from 3-5 months. The Dow has been consolidating since March; it has essentially been trading in a tight range. Even though the Dow did not pull back strongly, the sideways action helped it blow out a large dose of steam as envisioned by the MACD’s and several other technical indicators that are trading in the oversold ranges. The lag period was roughly three months as the utility bottomed out in Nov and the Dow started to consolidate in March of 2017.
The stock market crash theme makes for great headlines as fear sells well, but that is all it has been good for so far. The market will experience a much stronger correction over the course of the next 6-15 months, but until the masses embrace this bull market, those corrections will prove to be buying opportunities.
The overall Market sentiment illustrates that the masses are not jumping with joy. The trend is positive, and the Dow Utilities have surged to new highs. Therefore under such conditions, it is hard to envision a crash like a scenario.
Every bull market experiences one back breaking correction that is mistakenly labelled as the beginning of a new bear market. When that occurs, it will be a sign that the end is close at hand. That strong correction will subsequently trigger an even stronger rally and fuel a feeding frenzy. Sentiment will turn bullish, and the masses will dance with Joy, then the bottom will drop. However, we are not at this stage, so there is no point in further developing this story line.
Our ideal setup would call for the Dow to shed 600-1000 points over a very short period; this would drive the masses into the hysteria zone. A small push is all it would take to drive the fear factor through the roof. We all know what happens next; the masses stampede, the smart money swoops in, and history repeats itself once again. For the masses, it is groundhogs day every single day.
A genius can’t be forced; nor can you make an ape an alderman.
The stock market crash story is getting boring and annoying to a large degree. Since 2009, there has been a constant drumbeat of the market is going to crash stories. In 2009, many experts felt that the market had rallied too strongly and that it needed to pull back strongly before moving higher up. They were calling for 15%-20% correction.
Ten years later and most of them are still waiting for this so-called strong correction or crash. A stock market crash is a possibility but the possibility is not the same thing as certainty, and this is what seems to elude most of the naysayers. One day they will get it right as even a broken clock is correct twice a day. In the interim waiting for this stock market crash has cost these experts a fortune, both in lost capital gains and actual booked losses if they shorted this market.
Bear Market nonsense: Experts want you to think Markets are Going to Crash
It’s 2017, and the markets are overbought, and we agree that they need to let out some steam, but as for a crash that will only occur when sentiment turns bullish. The crowd has not embraced this market and until they do corrections but not crashes is what we should expect. In fact, we penned an article titled “Dow Could Trade to 30K But not before This Happens”, where we discussed the possibility of the Dow trading to 30k before it crashes. The one factor that could alter this outlook would be for the masses to turn bullish suddenly.
This market will experience a spectacular crash one day; nothing can trend upwards forever and eventually the market has to revert to the mean. Markets never crash on a sour note; the crowd is chanting in joy when the markets suddenly change direction. A simple look at previous bubbles will prove this; the housing bubble, for example, did not end on a note of fear; the crowd was ecstatic. Even the Tulip bubble that lasted from 1634-1637 ended on a note of extreme joy.
Jim Rogers states that the next crash will be the worst one we have seen in our lifetimes.
We’ve had financial problems in America — let’s use America — every four to seven years, since the beginning of the republic. Well, it’s been over eight since the last one. This is the longest or second-longest in recorded history, so it’s coming. And the next time it comes — you know, in 2008, we had a problem because of debt. Henry, the debt now, that debt is nothing compared to what’s happening now.
In 2008, the Chinese had a lot of money saved for a rainy day. It started raining. They started spending the money. Now even the Chinese have debt, and the debt is much higher. The federal reserves, the central bank in America, the balance sheet is up over five times since 2008. It’s going to be the worst in your lifetime — my lifetime too. Be worried Business Insider
In a broad manner of speaking, he is right, but the proverbial question as always is “when”; so far the naysayers have missed the mark by 1000 miles. This entire rally has been based on the fact that the Fed artificially propped the markets by keeping rates low for an insanely long period and infusing billions of dollars into the markets. One day the pied piper is going to collect but as we have stated over and over again over the years, that until the masses embrace this market, a crash is unlikely. A strong correction is, however, a certainty; it’s just a matter of time.
This stock market bull has defied every Bear market call
The market has defied every call, and even some of the most ardent of bulls are now nervous; we stated this would occur over two years ago. The Market has put in over 36 new highs this year and is living up to the new name we gave it late in 2016. Up to that point, we referred to this market as the most hated bull market of all time; after that, we started to refer to this market as the most Insane Stock Market Bull of all time. Insanity by definition has no pattern so expect this market to do things no other market has ever done before.
A Bear Market is a certainty but the question is when
We are using the word correction and not crash for until we start seeing non-stop headlines for Dow 35K, and the overall sentiment turns bullish, the markets are unlikely to crash. Sentiment analysis reveals that the crowd is still either uncertain or bearish when it comes to the stock market.
From a technical basis, the markets are extremely overbought. However, markets can remain irrational for a lot longer than most players can remain solvent. An overbought market does not mean that the market is ready to crash. Take a look at the stock NVDA; the stock has been trading in the overbought ranges for over two years, and instead of crashing, it has continued to trend higher.
Bear Market and stock market crash outlook
The market will crash one day, and it will probably be quite a spectacular crash as this market has soared to stunning heights. The main driving force behind this massive move has been and still is hot money. However, we have continuously stated that this bull market would not crash until the masses embraced it. In 2016 we informed our subscribers that the Dow was getting ready to trade to 21K; this target was hit within three months. The Dow went on to trade to 22K and sentiment is far from bullish. History indicates that markets always crash on a note of euphoria. Instead of worrying about a future crash, why not put in a few common sense measures that could reduce your risk but also allow you to profit from this bull market
Take some money off the table when you position is showing healthy gains
Implement trailing stops
Put some money into safe haven investments like Gold
Monitor the masses; bull markets have never ended on a sour note
On a separate note, Gold is holding up fairly well, and as long as it does not trade below 1250 on a weekly basis, it has a good chance of testing the 1360-1380 ranges with a possible overshoot to 1400.
Don’t fixate on the crash factor; instead look for great stocks you would like to own. When the market eventually corrects, you will be in a position to pick up top players at a great price.
Is a Bear Market a possibility?
Yes it is but so is death; nobody sits around worrying about that event every single day, do they?
Identifying Market Trends: Jump in Before the Masses do
A new trend can begin that is based on fake news or false data to create the illusion all is well. Remember that the truth or lies are just a matter of perception. One person will swear that he is telling the truth, while another will swear that he is lying. From an observer’s perspective, both are correct.
They are convinced of their position, so all you will do is waste your time and energy trying to sway them. Instead, you are better of letting them battle it out, while you sit down and take a look at the real events that are unfolding, most of which the masses are oblivious too. The main principle of trend investing is not to focus on the noise factor but to pay attention to the “reality factor”. In other words, trend investing focuses on what is going on minus the morality or judgemental angle.
The observer’s perspective to Identifying Market Trends
Personal views are on par with toilet paper regarding their relevance in determining trends. Oh, by the way, we also include ourselves into the equation. This is why we do not voice our personal opinions as nothing will change, and if we let our personal opinions cloud our judgement, then the ability to look at the situation objectively is lost.
Over time it gets easier and easier to do this, and then one day you wake up, and it is almost like breathing. Practice makes perfect, and there is no better time to start than today for tomorrow never comes. Today is the tomorrow you dreamed of starting something new yesterday but never did and most likely never will. If you want to spot new trends you can’t allow your emotions to do the talking; once you emotions talk, logic goes out the window and stupidity
Keep Your Emotion in Check when Identifying Market Trends
In order to spot new trends one should not allow one’s emotions to do the talking; once your emotions take over, your logic goes out the window and stupidity is in charge of the situation. This is the first principle you need to muster before you can develop the ability to spot new trends.
A Trend in Motion Is unstoppable
Whether you and I agree with it or whether it is morally right or wrong is irrelevant. Nothing can stop a trend in motion. This bull market is a perfect example of fake news driving a new trend; all the data imaginable has been manipulated to create the illusion that the economy is doing well. If we had allowed our personal opinions to dictate the way we trade, then like all the fools out there we would have missed the biggest bull run of all time.
Trend investing provides you with the opportunity to see the real picture as opposed to the one the mass media forces you to focus on. The idea is to sell when the masses are dancing and buy when they are nervous.
The trend is your Friend
Trend investing states that the trend is your friend, everything else is your foe. Mass Psychology clearly states that the crowds always oppose the trend and as a result, they are always on the losing end of a trade.
The Most hated bull Market is not ready to drop dead
Throughout this bull-run, a plethora of reasons has been laid out to indicate why this bull should have ended years ago. Mind you most of those reasons are valid, but that is where the bucket stops. Being right does not equate to making money on Wall Street. In fact, the opposite usually applies. The Fed recreated all the rules by flooding the markets with money and creating and maintaining an environment that fosters speculation.
So why is this the most hated Bull Market
The reason this is the most hated bull market in history is because there is nothing logical reason to justify it. In the 2008-2009 volume on the NYSE was in the 8-11 billion ranges and sometimes it surged to 12 billion. Before that, every year, the volume continued to rise, this indicates market participation. From early 2010 volume just vanished, it dropped to the 2-3 billion ranges and even lower on some days. Hence, all market technicians and students of the markets assumed that the markets would tank as markets cannot trend higher on low volume and that is where they erred.
Share buybacks are pushing this bull Market higher
We were and still are in a new paradigm, just as the US uses shell companies or brokerages to mask their trades in the US, they employ the same trick in overseas markets. The US government stepped in and started to support the market directly that is why volume dropped so dramatically. However as there were no sellers, the markets drifted upwards. Later on, they got the corporate world in on the scam. They set up the environment that propelled corporations to buy back their shares by borrowing money for next to nothing and then using this trick to inflate their EPS, without doing any work or even increasing the profitability of the company. Mass Psychology states that the masses are destined to lose; do not follow the crowd for they will always lead you
Mass Psychology states that the masses are destined to lose; do not follow the crowd for they will always lead you astray.In between a few minor corrections were allowed to transpire almost all of which took place on ever lower volume, to create the illusion that there was some semblance of free market forces at play.
Dark Pools could be contributing to Hated bull Market Run
We also have something known as Dark Pools, this, in essence, allows big companies to purchase large blocks of shares without the trade showing up on the NYSE or any other major exchanges. In essence, it gives the government an avenue to manipulate the markets without actually leaving a footprint. As the US can print as much money as it wants, this is a perfect backdrop to do whatever it wants. By the way, don’t believe the hogwash that our debt is only 18.9 trillion. There is no real mechanism in place to check how much money the US creates. Nobody is allowed to audit the Feds books.
How to handle this Hated bull Market
The Fed is hell bent on forcing everyone to speculate, and that is why we have moved into the next stage of the currency war games and the era of negative interest rates. Negative rates will eventually force the most conservative of players to take their money out of the banks and speculate. This process will be akin to another massive stimulus and will provide the bedrock for another huge rally.
Make a list of stocks that you would like to own and use strong pullbacks to add to or open new positions in. Some examples are OA, AMZN, BABA, GOOG, CALM, CHL, etc.
A contrarian investor focuses on the facts and not the noise
We are going to use the precious metals to illustrate some of the Psychological principles of being a Contrarian investor. Keep in mind that most contrarian investors are not real contrarians but fall under the category of Fashion contrarians.
Contrarian investing is based on taking a position that is opposite to that of the masses. In general contrarian, investors get in an investment too early as their analysis is based on doing the opposite of the masses. In contrast mass psychology dictates that you wait for the emotion to hit a boiling point, euphoria or panic before a position is taken. Mass psychology involves the actual study of what the masses are doing as opposed to just determining that their current action is wrong and using that information to take a position in the opposite direction.
A contrarian Investor takes a position that is contrary to the Masses
Contrarians only take a position that is contrary to the masses and that about wraps up the ideology of being a contrarian today. Very few of today’s contrarians are true contrarians; they fall into the category of fashion contrarians.
Investors that adopt the doctrine of mass psychology correctly look for something more. Mass psychology takes the principle of contrarian investing and then pushes it to the next level.
Mass psychology focuses on extreme situations
Students of Mass Psychology look for extreme type situations. In other words, sentiment should not just be bullish before an opposing strategy is put into play, it should be at the boiling point and only then will the student of mass psychology look for an exit and attempt to take an opposing position to that of the masses. To illustrate this point, we will use the following example.
The commodities sector has several components to it, two of them being the Gold and Silver. Throughout 2002 and early 2003, the hate and disgust for both these sectors were extremely high. Fast forward to 2004 and Gold was being mentioned everywhere; even CNBC had a little ticker that stated what the price of Gold was throughout the day. The hate or disgust for both these sectors was no longer there, and even though both these sectors have a long way to go before the masses fully embrace them, they did not provide a psychological basis for taking an opposing position to that of the masses in 2004.
Gold went on to soar to untold heights, heights that most would have deemed impossible in 2003. All along the way we continually stated that Gold would continue to trade higher and higher until 2011. We warned our subscribers to bail out of Gold very close to the top.
A Contrarian Investor pays close attention to what the masses are doing
Even though the masses have still not fully embraced Gold, this concept does not matter in the long run. A more important criterion would be to find out what % of investors has taken positions in these sectors or not. Next one would try to find out what the Gold bugs (the most bullish individuals ever created on earth) are doing. If all the Gold bugs are bullish, then based on the contrarian rules of investing you should take a contrary to a neutral position because all the individuals in your group are now optimistic.
Do not pay attention to the masses; they know not what they are doing when it comes to investing
Should one care what the masses are doing that much or focus on the Gold bugs (the group) that are emotionally tied up with Gold? The masses in general, will not embrace Gold fully until it becomes fashionable and by then a large portion of the Bull Run will be a thing of the past. In the last Gold Bull Run, the masses did not even know what was going on, let alone take a position in this sector.
So one measure would be to determine if all the people who believe in Gold have already taken positions if they have then the market has become saturated. The only way the market can continue its upward run is for momentum players to jump on the bandwagon. These players have very short time spans of concentration, and thus, they jump in and out very fast. Once they decide to bail out the corrective phase could be very painful as was the case of precious metals topped out in 2011. The housing collapse and internet bubble serve as two stark reminders of what happens once momentum has run its course.
A Good Contrarian Investor understand the core principles of Mass Psychology
Mass psychology is the constant analysis of the playing field to determine how the game is being played. Are the rules changing, are the players become more aggressive or docile, is the playing field soft, rocky or worse yet on extremely high and treacherous ground. One has to take measures at different levels and then compare it the pattern you have already established from past observations.
In this sense, mass psychology is dynamic compared to the methodology most contrarians put into play. Contrarians do not measure their position relative to those of other contrarians; they only measure their position relative to that of the masses, and therefore, they fail to obtain a vital piece of data. This usually results in pain, misery and taking on substantial losses In, other words; they do not measure the intensity of emotion in their camp.
The gold bugs are a classic example of contrarian investing gone wrong. They moved from the Euphoric phase to the having found religion period, to the gnashing of teeth and pure misery phase, as they watched Gold plunge from 1800 ranges down to the 1000 ranges. They still cannot fathom why this happened, especially as trillions of more dollars have been created since 2011.
The Internet boom lasted one-year longer after all the TA and contrarian indicators were in the extremely bearish zones. Euphoria for this sector was running sky-high. If one had shorted the markets based on these contrarian factors only one would have lost one’s pants and well as underwear. In other words, you would have most likely lost a small fortune.
Gold bugs should have banked some of their profits. Instead, they continued to plough money into Gold, and as it pulled back, they jumped in joy and added even more. Once the correction moved from the mild to the wild phase, they panicked and started to pray. Today the sentiment is almost as bearish as it was in 2003. From a long term perspective, a great buying opportunity could be at hand.
Be A true Contrarian Investor and not a fashion contrarian
Most so-called contrarians were caught flat-footed when the Equity markets mounted this huge rally from Oct 2004. Their contrarian indicators suggested that taking a short or neutral position was the right thing to do. Only 10% of the investors can win at any given time. The moment the number surges past this level (no matter what side of the fence they are on contrarian or the masses side); the markets will adjust to bring this ratio back to its norm.
Investing based on psychology amounts to not only taking a position against the masses but also against the fashion contrarians. Once sentiment has reached the boiling point, one should go into cash; risk takers can consider shorting the markets. Finally, less attention is being given to the precious metals sector, so establishing a position now could be viewed as a prudent long term investment.
On the same token, most investors and experts expected the Market to Crash after Trump won and we stated that it would create a buying opportunity just as Brexit did. In fact, since 2013 we have been stating that a stock market crash was a long way in the making and that all strong pullback should be viewed through a bullish lens.
Price of Copper probably a bullish Development for the Stock market
Many pundits associate higher copper prices with inflation. This is the wrong metric to look at; higher copper prices are usually associated with an improving economy.
Copper has traded past a key resistance point ($3.00) and it has managed to close above this important level on a monthly basis. The long term outlook for copper is now bullish and will remain so as long as it does not close below 2.80 on a monthly basis. Copper is facing resistance in the 3.20-3.25 ranges and as it is now trading in the extremely overbought ranges. As copper is now trading in the extremely overbought ranges, it is more likely to let out some steam before trading past this zone. A healthy consolidation will provide copper with the force necessary to challenge the 3.20 ranges and trade as high as $3.80 with a possible overshoot to $4.00, provided it does not close below $2.80 on a monthly basis.
Now that copper has traded past $3.00 on a monthly basis, the Fed deserves another pat on the back for they have managed to further cement the illusion that this economic recovery is real. Copper is seen as a barometer for economic growth, so pulling off a Houdini here is probably going propel a lot of former naysayers to embrace this economic recovery.
Mass Sentiment is still Negative so Stock Market likely to Correct only
Combining this data with the action in the Copper markets leads us to believe that the stock market is more likely to experience a correction than an outright crash. Higher copper prices are usually indicative of higher stock market prices. Therefore, the copper markets are confirming that the long term trend is still intact.
What about the Inflation issue?
The chart below puts an end to that argument for now. If inflation were an issue, the velocity of M2 money stock would be trending upwards. Until it starts to trend upwards, inflation is not an issue and the focus should be on higher stock market prices.
Conclusion
Don’t focus on the noise; focus on the trend as it’s your friend and everything else is your foe.
