Broke Back Market - And The Oscar Goes To...Sellers
Posted On Monday, February 23, 2009 at at 6:29 PM by Finance FanaticLast night, Hollywood seemed at ease as they put on their 81st annual Academy Awards. Little did they know of the storm brewing for the stock market the day after. In fact, besides the "red carpet", the only other red out there is from all the selling in Wall Street. This morning, we actually experienced our first few moments in the green, but proceeded to spend the rest of the day heading downward. Buyers and government intervention (PPT) didn't stand a chance in turning this train around right from the get go. Any sort of attempt of a turn around, was quickly denied, sending the market down further. Finally, in my attempts to try and figure out what the heck is going on, I resorted to the "they must know something I don't know."
Indeed I am a very strong bear right in this market, but by now, I almost feel overfed from the recent down trading days and keep waiting for the days where I start throwing everything up. But that day still never comes. I caught something very interesting that made me quite curious. Indeed, as I said in previous posts, we are long overdue for a "technical rally". However, there has been no such rally and looks that it may not come for a bit. Whenever technicals are over ruled, I try to figure out why. On Thursday and Friday, many of the sellers were hedge funds liquidating positions in preparations for redemptions. This mass selling was a strong contributor to keeping the markets down, even in the face of strong buying surges.
So who was selling today? Believe it or not, but a lot of today's sellers were institutions. Many long term holders found themselves selling today in the midst of the downward treading market. For those of you that don't have upper level trading, you should have seen the bulks being sold. I had not seen anything like it, not even in November. With selling like this, clearly "they must know something I don't know." These guys don't like selling unless they absolutely have to. Towards the end of the day, I think we saw what it was. AIG needing up to $60 billion of new capital to stay a float. They announced that they will be announcing the largest loss in corporate history on Monday. Just what this market needs. Being that the US already has its maximum allowed stake in the company, they are seeking for alternative capital to keep them afloat. Good luck! This news indeed could have been the devastating news spurring the recent sell-a-thon that has taken place the last 5-6 days. I do not see how this news does not continue to linger with us all the way to Monday's announcement.
As of now, we have pretty much passed every major downward indicator for most every major indices. With S&P closing under 750 today and the Dow getting dangerously close to 7000, we are in very dangerous grounds for what could eventually lead into a downward crash. The big question is, can we hold? I have expressed my doubt about this being "the crash" of this market, as the deflationary indicators just aren't hitting. However, that does not mean that it can't happen. Even though we seem low at these current numbers, I honestly feel that when the big storm comes, we will see 500 S&P numbers and it will come fast. By that time I hope to be fully positioned in my portfolio. For now, I will continue with my current shorts I have (SRS, FXP, and SKF), along with my DGP, GDX, TBT, and UUP. I still have some FAZ put options, which I will keep just in case of a strong rebound rally, but for the most part, I remain in cash. I still enjoy green on days like today in my Zecco.com account, as most of my positions remain short.
Tomorrows reaction to today is so, so critical. A failure to hold these numbers may spur a bit of a rally, which I don't see lasting long, but definitely possible. However, another strong day of selling, depending on how aggressive the markets are, may result in beginning days of capitulation. I cannot stress the importance of the day tomorrow, as all analyst's eyes will be on trading. Keep your eye out for some fireworks. FAZ continues to soars with a Market Club report score of +70! (get your own symbol analyzed for free, all you need is a name and email, Click Here).
I hope to see you all up early and on chat (located on the right side of the site, towards the top). It should be an exciting one. Please keep in mind, President Obama is set to speak tomorrow at 6:00 PM eastern tomorrow. So something could be up. Maybe it is the "something I don't know." At any rate, I think it's clear that we have "Broke the Back" of this market and that if anyone still believes in the "buy and hold" theory for stocks, I am sorry, for you have probably lost value in your stocks since 1997, ouch! Also, HBSC is offering some good rates right now, so if you're looking, go to Earn 2.25% APY* at www.hsbcdirect.com for more info. Happy Trading and we'll see you all tomorrow.
PS... You should really check out the newest Big Five Trends Video, awesome and free 5 Trends Video
It was very interesting that the Go Go crowded get long commodity trades were breaking down. FCX was down 8%. MOS got pounded 15.5%! This is all after there were still traces of bullishness from the Morgan Stanley Basic Materials conference.
The credit ETFs rolled over today. HYG. LQD.
GGP posted their numbers late. Check out the 2009 Maturing Debt and Liquidity Concerns. "We currently have approximately $1.179 billion of past due debt and approximately $4.09 billion of debt that could be accelerated. In addition, we have an additional $1.44 billion of consolidated mortgage debt and approximately $595 million of unsecured bonds scheduled to mature in the balance of 2009.
http://www.ggp.com/Company/Pressreleases.aspx?prid=445
GGP will be a fun to watch. It's so bad I wouldn't be surprised if the penny stock is higher tomorrow. Even it is worth a donut.
Lastly, even the mighty AAPL proved to be rotten. Jobs aint attending Wednesday's Annual Meeting and an Apple Survey Finds Soft Mac, iPod Sales In February. Noice.
Any suggestions for longs with high short interests to get long as hedges? I am thinking about going HOGging at some point....
Nice post on oscar.
This time, North was photographed by herself by Michael Avedon, complete with a Chanel brooch on her baby cardigan (which is certainly cashmere) and a teeny-tiny Chanel bag in her baby lap. Everything about this is ridiculous, and I love it
nixcc