From Dana Lyons: The recent breakout in financials is occurring right into potential chart resistance.

One of the big winners in the “Trump Rally” has been financials. In concert with the spike in bond yields, bank stocks jumped some 30% in the month following the election, as measured by the KBW Bank Index (BKX). After consolidating over the subsequent two months, the BKX finally broke out to new highs this week. In doing so, it cemented the continued relative strength in the space. But while the development has the look of a continuation pattern, i.e., to the upside, there is at least one piece of technical evidence dampening our enthusiasm regarding the breakout.

We have spent much of this week, including in a post on Monday as well as in our daily videos on The Lyons Share, discussing the concept of chart extensions, specifically Fibonacci Extensions. Here is what we had to say about the topic in Monday’s post regarding the Nasdaq 100:

“Fibonacci Extensions relate to the incremental moves that prices exhibit following a break out of a range. In this case we are looking at the NDX’s ranges corresponding to its declines from July-August 2015 and from November 2015-February 2016. Once the NDX finally broke above those ranges last summer, we could start measuring its “extension”. We measure it as a percentage of the range and monitor certain percentages that correspond to the Fibonacci sequence.

The most significant percentage in Fibonacci is 61.8%, or 0.618. That is the figure resulting from dividing one Fibonacci number by the next one in the sequence. In Fibonacci Extensions, we look for a 61.8% move above the previous range as a potential key marker. This level, expressed as a 161.8% extension of the range, is presently being reached on the chart of the NASDAQ 100 near 5260-5270.”

We bring this topic back up today because, while the breakout in the BKX looks inviting, it has sent prices directly into its own 161.8% extension of its 2015 to 2016 decline.

This Fibonacci Extension charting technique certainly is not infallible – nothing is. Furthermore, the stock market rally has displayed an obstinate momentum of late. However, these Extensions have proven reliable enough, in our experience, to warrant our respect. In this case, that respect dictates a healthy skepticism of the sustainability of the breakout.

Time will tell but, in our view, the immediate success of the breakout is certainly no money in the bank.

The PowerShares KBW Bank Portfolio (NASDAQ:KBWB) closed at $49.60 on Friday, down $-0.12 (-0.24%). Year-to-date, KBWB has gained 4.93%, versus a 5.17% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

KBWB currently has an ETF Daily News SMART Grade of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #9 of 38 ETFs in the Financial Equities ETFs category.

---

This article is brought to you courtesy of Dana Lyons, JLFMI and My401kPro.

You are viewing an abbreviated republication of ETF Daily News content. You can find full ETF Daily News articles on (www.etfdailynews.com)

Powered by WPeMatico