“Banking” Gains?
The banks via the XLF have witnessed some strong moves in 2024 thus far being the second-best acting major S&P sector YTD up 19%. Action in the ETF as of late should have investors antennas perked with the volatility which is often indicative of topping behavior. PRICE action has been wide and loose and with the moves in best-of-breed names like JPM and GS was eye-opening Tuesday. JPM undercut its 50-day SMA bouncing off the very round 200 number with an 18 handle range (notice the doji candle from 8/29 near the end of an 18 of 19 session win streak). GS never really felt comfortable above the very round 500 number, rising above it 3 times since mid-July before quickly losing altitude. Bulls should be watching the JNK as it approaches the very round par number and Tuesday recorded a rare bearish engulfing candle. The last time that occurred on 8/1 saw a quick haircut back to the 50-day SMA. This fund is good to monitor risk on/off behavior not just for the financial group but the market overall.