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The U.S. Equity Landscape. Week 7.

Edition 0006. 02.19.2022.


This weekly commentary examines 9 U.S. equity Indices and ETFs to develop a clear picture of how the U.S. market is performing. We analyze performance, price, trend, and momentum.

While it is true that this is a market of stocks, looking at the major indices helps chartists and technicians by pointing to areas of the market that require further investigation, be it for strength, for weakness, or a potential future move. This chart list covers the great majority of the U.S. Equity landscape. We’ve spent a lot of time deciding which charts to include, more so which charts to exclude, and after a lot of analysis we believe this chart list is a comprehensive look at the U.S. equity landscape.

 

We start with performance tables that allow us to track how the symbols have performed over several rolling periods of time. We can see New high/low details, as well as determine trend and momentum using quantitative measures. Here are a few notes to help you interpret the tables.

  • They are grouped first by family, and then sorted by performance.

  • Quantitatively, the general trend is determined by price in relation to its 40-week simple moving average. 1 means the trend is up. 2 means the trend is vulnerable. 3 means the trend is down.

1 = close is above the ma and the ma is up.

2 = close is below the ma and the ma is up, close is above a flat or ma that is down.

3 = close is below the ma and the ma is down.

  • Quantitatively, the general momentum condition is determined by a 12,26,09 Price Percentage Oscillator – think MACD. 1 means the momentum condition is positive. 2 means the momentum condition is positive but decelerating. 3 means the momentum condition is negative but accelerating. 4 means the momentum condition is negative.

1 = the oscillator is above 0 and the histogram is above 0.

2 = the oscillator is above 0 but the histogram is below 0

3 = the oscillator is below 0 but the histogram is above 0.

4 = the oscillator is below 0 and the histogram is below 0.

  • The ranking of closing highs and lows is as follows:

1 = 4-week closing high or low.

2 = 13-week closing high or low.

3 = 52-week closing high or low.

4 = all-time closing high or low.


Please know, if I refer to weightings in symbols, these weights are constantly changing. They were current as of 01/15/2022, though they almost certainly have changed since then. See the links for the most up-to-date weights.


For more information about the symbols that are a part of this landscape, click here.

 

The U.S. Equity Landscape Summary


Performance table sorted by the 1-week rate-of-change.

Last week 0 of our 9 symbols in our universe finished in the green. In fact we saw 2/3rds of them making new 4 or 13-week closing lows.


From a quantitative perspective, the continued deterioration is evident. There are 0 symbols in both a quantitative uptrend and with a positive momentum condition. The IWB has changed from a 2 to a 4 in momentum, while DJU has changed from a 1 to a 2 in trend.


The symbol universe has is also now 11 weeks, on average, from its last 52-week closing high. It is also, on average, more than 12% from that 52-week high.


Performance table sorted by the year-to-date rate-of-change.


Relative Comparison Chart. This shows the year-to-date performance.

Not much change from 2 weeks ago. Industrials lead and QQQ lags.

 

The U.S. Landscape Charts


QQQ: The Nasdaq 100 ETF

QQQ finished last, again, and lost 1.6% in value. Price continues to stay below its 40-week simple moving average and flirt with the $350 level. Momentum remains negative and is accelerating. Price is rangebound. The next test will be the 40-week simple moving average or $316 which marks the May 2021 swing lows.


Standard & Poor’s ETFs


SPY: The S&P 500 ETF

SPY finished down 1.41%, the weakest of the 3 S&P ETFs, and closed below its 40-week simple moving average again. Momentum continues to accelerate to the downside, thought the PPO oscillator line has not crossed below 0. Price is rangebound. The next test will be the 40-week simple moving average or $426 which marks the October 2021 sing low.


IJH: The S&P 400 ETF

IJH closed down, lowing 0.48% in value after 3 weeks of gains. Price remains below its downward sloping 40-week simple moving average. Momentum is negative but did decelerate last week. Price is rangebound. The next test will be the 40-week simple moving average or $254 which marks the July 2021 sing low.


IJR: The S&P 600 ETF.

IJR, the best performing of the S&P ETFs again, closed with a loss of 0.22 after 3 weeks of gains. Price remains below its downward sloping 40-week simple moving average. Momentum is negative. Price is rangebound. The next test will be the 40-week simple moving average or $102.50 which marks the March 2021 sing low.


The Russell ETFs


IWB: The Russell 1000 ETF.

IWB finished down 1.59%. Price below its 40-week simple moving average. Momentum continues to accelerate to the downside and is now negative. Price is rangebound. The next test will be the 40-week simple moving average or $237 which marks the 1st quarter lows from 2021.


IWM: The Russell 2000 ETF.

IWM finished up last week down 0.95%. IWM continues its down trend, testing $207 as resistance from below again. Momentum is negative but did decelerate last week. We have $207 above and $191 below.


Dow Jones Indices


DJT: Dow Jones Transportation Average.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average finished at the top the Dow Averages, giving back 0.19% in value. Price remains below its downward sloping 40-week simple moving average. Momentum continues accelerating towards its 0-line from above. A break below the descending triangle generates a measured move down to the 14,000 area which coincides with the September 2021 swing lows. Price remains rangebound but falling.


DJI: Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the worst performing of the Dow Averages. Price closed below its downward sloping 40-week simple moving average giving back 1.90% in value. Momentum continues to accelerate down towards the 0-line. Price remains in its 8-month trading range above 33,515 and below 36,953.


DJU: Down Jones Utility Average.

While the Dow Jones Utility Average was at the bottom of our 3 Dow averages. Price closed below a still upward sloping 40-week simple moving average. Last week the DJU lost 0.97% in value. Momentum has now crossed below its average and testing its upward sloping trendline. Utility bulls have been waiting almost 2 years for price to break out of its ascending triangle and reclaim its pre-Covid price levels, hoping that the price action in the last week of 2021 and first week of 2022 was a premature breakout and not a false breakout.


Conclusion

It is a tough environment for US equites. They are all down YTD. 0 of the 9 symbols have price above an upward sloping 40-week average, and none have positive and accelerating momentum. We are continuing to see more 4 and 13-week closing lows.

 

About The Landscape

In the descriptions of the symbols that follow, I will reference the current weights of the component sectors to point out the makeup. These weight are constantly changing, and while the values are current as of the writing this edition, they will change when you look for yourself. Some families publish the current weightings quarterly, while others maintain real-time measurements. Links are provided to the source data.


QQQ: The Nasdaq 100 ETF

We look at the Nasdaq 100 Invesco ETF, QQQ, to get an idea of what tech is doing. Managed by Invesco, the Nasdaq 100 is a market-cap weighted ETF, launched in 1985, that tracks the top 100 non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Exchange. It is rebalanced quarterly. QQQ is dominated by tech which makes up roughly 50% of its cap weight. Next is communication services at 18.5% and consumer discretionary at 16.5%. The remaining non-financial sectors are less than 6% each of market cap.


Standard & Poor’s ETFs

These ETFs are maintained by S&P Global. They are groups of companies based on the size of their market capitalization. To be included, the company must meet a financial viability criterion, so all companies included in these ETFs have at least 4 consecutive quarters of positive earnings. These are rebalanced quarterly.


Standard & Poor's define the cap tiers as follow:


SPY: The S&P 500 ETF

SPY tracks US large. While not as heavily weighted with technology, like QQQ, tech does carry the largest weight in the 500 at roughly 30%. 13% heath care and consumer discretionary. 11% financials and 10% communication services. 8% industrials. The remaining sector are all less than 6% by weight.


IJH: The S&P 400 ETF

IJH tracks US mid-cap stocks. Industrials hold the largest weight at 19%. 16% for consumer discretionary, and 14% for tech and financials. 10% real estate and healthcare. The remaining sectors make less than 4% of cap weight each.


IJR: The S&P 600 ETF.

IJR tracks US small-cap stocks. Like the midcap ETF, Financials hold the largest weight at 19%. 17% industrials. 14% tech. 12% healthcare and consumer discretionary. 8% real estate. The remaining sectors make less than 5% of cap weight each.


The Russell ETFs

While the Russell Indices are maintained by FTSE Russell, these ETFs that track the indices are maintained by iShares. These are market-cap weighted, and much broader in number than the S&P ETFs and QQQ. These are rebalanced just once per year instead of quarterly like the S&P ETFs and QQQ. Unlike the S&P ETFs, there is no financial viability requirement to be included.


IWB: The Russell 1000 ETF.

The IWB tracks the performance of the largest 1000 companies from the Russell 3000. Mostly large with some mid-caps. 28% Tech. 13% health care. 12% consumer discretionary and financials. 10% communication services. 9% industrials. The remaining sectors are less than 6% each.


IWM: The Russell 2000 ETF.

The IWM tracks the performance of the next 2,000 US companies from the Russell 3000. It is made of small-caps. 17% healthcare and financials. 15% industrials. 14% tech. 11% consumer discretionary. 8% real estate. The remaining sectors are less than 5% each.


Dow Jones Indices

I cannot stress the importance of Charles H. Dow. His thinking and work is the springboard for way markets are viewed and price action is interpreted today. His work has led to the modern discipline of Technical Analysis. His importance cannot be overstated. His ideas must be studied.


He created the first modern stock index in the form of the transportation index, which was then the railroad index, in 1884. Next, he created the industrial average in 1896. Finally, when utility tocks were removed from the industrial average, the utility index was created in 1929. These averages are price-weighted and not cap weighted. The impact from the largest companies are still relevant, though less so than with a cap weighted index. These small, in number not market cap, indices track the companies considered most prominent in the economy today. Like the S&P ETFs and QQQ, these indices are maintained by S&P Global and rebalanced quarterly.


DJT: Dow Jones Transportation Average.

20 companies. 100% industrials.


DJI: Dow Jones Industrial Average.

30 companies. 22% tech. 18% healthcare. 16.% financials and consumer discretionary. 15% industrials. 8% consumer staples. The remaining sectors make up less than 4% of weight by price.


DJU: Down Jones Utility Average.

15 companies. 100% Utilities.

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