It’s going to be a busy day for me today, and I’m not referring to the markets, which are quite sleepy this holiday week. We have decided to do the big Thanksgiving event today (which means I’ve been doing prep for the past two days) and I’ll be flitting between the kitchen and my just-set-up mountain office (below) as best as I am able. I miss my standing desk already, but I’ll manage (not sure if my back will).
The market continued to recover strongly from its Thursday selloff, and the small caps, by way of /RTY, illustrate how we’re getting close to what I think will be another juicy shorting opportunity.
The NASDAQ makes this point as well, although with a different pattern. I see the permabulls of the world (like Tom Lee, who is perpetually changing his year-end predictions, which is a bit silly in late November, wouldn’t you say???) are back in full force, but I think anyone buying into this market is clinically insane.
Gold is nominally higher by $44, but it’s struggling a bit around that $4175 line. As you know, my fingers are crossed for the strong precious/weak equities bifurcation instead of all assets being tethered together.
Given the very short memory of traders, any hint of fear has already left the building, as the VIX has sunk back to a more placid level.
Of all my positions, the only straight-up stinker this morning is Kohl’s (KSS) which is rocketing higher and whose ascent wil eject it not only from my positions but from my Bear Pen altogether. Oh, well. That’s what a diverse portfolio is for. No one position is ever going to be big enough to really cause lasting damage.
One salve to this wound is the fact crude is sinking quite hard again. As I’ve said many times, I think crude oil’s weakness is a welcome indicator of the truth that the world economy is heading for a serious downturn (even with the highly-manipulated cartel-based oil market).
The opening bell is about to ring for me, so I’m going to jump into it. I’ll bang out a post between peeling potatoes and shredding cheese, so I’ll see you next when I can.
