Weekly Wrap - Week ending 10 June, 2022.

XJO Monthly Chart.

XJO is only ten days into a new month (June).

The monthly chart remains range bound 6930-7539, but now at the lower edge of that range.  XJO finished Friday at 6932

The chart is  is essentially sideways as indicated by the two flat Supertrend lines, one above and one below the monthly candles.  

The MACD Histogram has fallen this week to the down-side, indicating that momentum is to the downside.

Weekly Chart.

XJO This week, XJO has its worst week since April, 2020, down -4.24%.  That broke a three week positive run.

The chart is range bound, in concert with the monthly chart, but clearly at the lower end of the range  

Medium term, the chart remains bearish..  Hull MA13 is blue (bearish); two Supertrend lines are blue (bearish) and the chart is just below the 8-Week EMA (bearish).  RSI and CCI are below their mid-lines (bearish). MACD Histogram is falling - momentum to the downside is increasing.

The chart is, however, rising from the lower edge of the range

Last week XJO finished at 7239, this week it finished at 6932.  

Daily Chart.

Both Supertrend Lines are bearish, Hull MA13 is bearish; Chart is below the 8-DEMA which is bearish.

On the bright side, there is a double positive divergence on the MACD histogram and the MACD itself.

That has a reasonably reliable leading indicator.  It suggests that the Chart will move up in the coming week.  

ASX is closed on Monday, 13 June for Queen's Birthday celebrations in the southern states.  So our market might escape the catastrophic fall in the U.S. on Friday if the U.S. bounces on Monday.

The ASX this week was knee-capped by a huge fall in Financials, down -9.01% after the Reserve Bank raised interest rates by more than expected +0.5%.

I'm a bit perplexed by the fall in the Financial Sector.  Rising interest rates are supposedly good for Banks as they can increase margins.  So the "big boys" who control the market must be assuming that economic activity will be so poor that will impinge on banks, and, possibly, they are expecting a large number of customers to fail in their loan repayments.

In yesterday's post, I looked at ANZ, one of the four big banks which dominate the Financial Sector.  That examination was hopeful of a rebound in ANZ, which would be reflected in the other three big banks.  So we may have seen the worst of the falls in Financials, at least in the short-term

SP500.

On Friday night, SP500 gapped down at the opening and continued falling to finish down -2.91%.

That move takes the SP500 down into a support zone from which it has bounced several times in the past.  After such a big fall, it is likely that SP500 will bounce again.

Sector Changes - past week.

This chart shows the performance of each sector (plus Gold Miners, XJO, BEAR and IAF) over the past week.  

Two sectors up, one flat and eight down. The best was Energy XEJ +4.97%, followed by Utilities XUJ +0.46%.  Energy fell heavily on Friday, down -1.64%.  It's run up might be coming to an end.

Financials (XXJ -9.01%) is the biggest sector in the market and a major drain on the performance of the XJO this week.  Not far behind is Real Estate XPJ -7.67%.  XPJ is an interest rate sensitive sector, so the big fall in XPJ is understandable.  The other sector highly sensitive to interest rate movements is Information Technology -4.81%.

New Highs - New Lows Cumulative.

This is one of the important breadth indicators.  Unless breadth is solidly positive, the market is always under threat.

NH-NL Cumulative continues to fall and is now well under its 10-Day Moving Average, that's a big red danger sign for long-term investors.  

ASX Advance-Decline Line.

This is another important indicator of breadth.

ASX Advance-Decline Line is also bearish, and in sync with NH-NL Cum.

 

% of Stocks above key moving averages.

1.  % of stocks above 10-Day Moving Average: Last Week 53%, This Week 17%.

2.  % of stocks above 50-Day Moving Average, Last Week 31%, This Week 18%.

3.  % of stocks above 200-Day Moving Average, Last Week 38%, This Week 29%

This is another indicator of weak breadth.  

Once these instruments fall below 20, that's a contrarian signal that the market might bounce.  Two out of three instruments are below 20.  It would be even stronger if the third one was below 20, but we are looking at a very weak oversold market, so the chance of a bounce is good.

I don't think there's any point in jumping the gun, if we're reaching an inflection point in the market, there'll be plenty of time to hop on a new trend.

Seasonally, we often see a medium term up-trend in stock markets.  I'd wait and see how this pans out.

Conclusion.

1.  Monthly, Weekly and Daily Charts are at the lower end of their ranges.   I could speculate that we'll bounce here, and there is some evidence for such a view, but jumping the gun could be dangerous move.

2.  Breadth is poor, so poor that contrarians will be salivating at the prospect of new buying coming into the market.  Contrarian signs are not always reliable, and sometimes well ahead of what could happen.  

3.  We need to see a move up on the Stochastic Daily chart.

4.  Double positive divergence on MACD and its Histogram point to the possibility of a move to the upside.

Finspiration Australia. Chart Analysis of the Australian and International Stock Markets.

7/6/22.  XJO down heavily today after Ozzie Reserve Bank hiked rates by more than expected, up 0.5%.

XJO down -1.53%.  All sectors were down.  The worst affected were the interest rate sensitive sectors Information Technology and Real Estate, both down -3%.

Advances-Declines Line remains bearish.

This remains bearish.  Stay defensive until we see definite improve in this instrument.
 

     Weekly Wrap - Week ending 3 June, 2022.

XJO Monthly Chart.

XJO is only three days into a new month (June).

The monthly chart remains range bound 6970-7630.  

The chart is  is essentially sideways as indicated by the two flat Supertrend lines, one above and one below the monthly candles.  

The MACD Histogram also indicates a flat or sideways market, with the Histograms almost non-existent for the past four months - hugging the zero line.

Weekly Chart.

XJO was positive this week, +0.78%.  This is its third week in a row to the upside.

The chart is range bound, in concert with the monthly chart.  

Medium term, the chart remains bearish..  Hull MA13 is blue (bearish); two Supertrend lines are blue (bearish) and the chart is just below the 8-Week EMA (bearish).  RSI and CCI are below their mid-lines (bearish). MACD Histogram is flat - non-trending.

The chart is, however, rising from the lower edge of the range

The chart shows a trading range in round figures from 7630 to 6930.  This week XJO finished at 7239.  

Daily Chart.

The daily chart is in a three-week up-trend, and has broken upside on the Donchian Channel.

Both Supertrend Lines are bullish, Hull MA13 is bullish; Chart is above the 8-DEMA which is bullish.

All of that looks hunky-dory, except - it all might just be a counter-trend rally.  Looming just above are the 50-DMA, 200-DMA and horizontal resistance, all three lined up together.  

To prove its bullish condition, the chart has to surpass those three resistance levels.  Maybe in the coming week?

(Many successful trading strategies use the 200-DMA as a filter.  Take long entries only if the instrument is above the 200-DMA, take short entries only if the instrument is below the 200-DMA.)

Sector Changes - past week.

This chart shows the performance of each sector (plus Gold Miners, XJO, BEAR and IAF) over the past week.  

The Market is relatively well balanced, with five sectors up, two flat and four down.  Resources (Materials XMJ +3.83%. Energy XEJ +3.96%) were largely responsible for the positive ASX return this week.  They remain the two sectors best placed for long trades.

Financials (XXJ -1.3%) is the biggest sector in the market and a major drain on the performance of the XJO this week.

New Highs - New Lows Cumulative.

This is one of the important breadth indicators.  Unless breadth is solidly positive, the market is always under threat.

NH-NL Cumulative continues to fall and is now well under its 10-Day Moving Average, that's a big red danger sign for long-term investors.  

ASX Advance-Decline Line.

This is another important indicator of breadth.

Like NH-NL Cum, ASX Advance-Decline Line is also bearish, but not quite as bleak as NH-NL Cum.

It is, however,  below its 10-DMA and its 20-DMA.  

% of Stocks above key moving averages.

1.  % of stocks above 10-Day Moving Average: Last Week 52%, This Week 53%.

2.  % of stocks above 50-Day Moving Average, Last Week 30%, This Week 31%.

3.  % of stocks above 200-Day Moving Average, Last Week 37%, This Week 38%

This is another indicator of weak breadth.  Despite the rise in the XJO the %age of stocks above key Moving Averages was relatively flat.

Weak breadth is often a leading indicator for falls in the market.

We need to see each of these parameters above 50% to feel comfortable about the XJO.

Conclusion.

1.  Monthly, Weekly Charts are non-trending - Daily Chart is in a medium term (15-Day) up-trend.  We need to see all three Charts in sync.

2..  Breadth is poor, so the most likely direction is down.  If breadth continues to be poor, we can expect a break down from the ranges, and a continuation of the bear market.  Perhaps not this week, but its not far off.

3.  50/200 DMAs are almost connected - that's stiff resistance.  Any rise is likely to be short-term when the XJO hits dual resistance of those two major MAs.

Finspiration Australia. Chart Analysis of Australian and International Stock Markets.

    Weekly Wrap - Week ending 27 May, 2022.

XJO Monthly Chart.

The monthly chart is range bound 6970-7630.  

The chart is currently above the 8-month EMA but it is essentially sideways as indicated by the two flat Supertrend lines, one above and one below the monthly candles.  

The MACD Histogram also indicates a flat or sideways market, with the Histograms almost non-existent for the past three months - hugging the zero line.

Weekly Chart.

XJO was positive this week, +0.52%, after being up +1% the previous week

The chart is range bound, in concert with the monthly chart.  

Medium term, the chart the chart remains bearish..  Hull MA13 is blue (bearish); two Supertrend lines are blue (bearish) and the chart is below the 8-Week EMA is heading down (bearish).  RSI and CCI are below their mid-lines (bearish) and Stochastic has fallen below its signal line (bearish).

The chart is, however, rising from the lower edge of the range

The chart shows a trading range in round figures from 7630 to 6930.  This week XJO finished at 7182.  

Daily Chart.

Looking at this chart, it doesn't take a genius to see that the past week or so has been in a sideways trend.

All three charts, monthly, weekly and daily are in sync, sideways within sideways.  Let's see of the daily chart can break out of its short-term range.

The confluence of the 50/200 DMAs suggests that any rise is likely to be short-lived.

Sector Changes - past week.

This chart shows the performance of each sector (plus Gold Miners, XJO, BEAR and IAF) over the past week.  

Despite the positive rise this past week, the Market is unbalanced, with four sectors up, one flat and six down.  Resources (Materials XMJ +1.78. Energy XEJ +2.14%) and Financials (XXJ +1.31%) were largely responsible for the positive ASX return this week.  XMJ and XXJ are, of course, the two biggest sectors in the market, and have an outsized impact on where the market heads.   

Information Technology (XIJ -3.43%) and Consumer Staples (XSJ -2.2%) were the worst performing sectors.  They represent two edges of the equity spectrum (from growth to defensive) so the market was a bit indecisive from that point of view.  Commodity based sectors (Materials and Energy) remain the places to be.

New Highs - New Lows Cumulative.

This is one of the important breadth indicators.  Unless breadth is solidly positive, the market is always under threat.

NH-NL Cumulative continues to fall and is now well under its 10-Day Moving Average, that's a big red danger sign for long-term investors.  

ASX Advance-Decline Line.

This is another important indicator of breadth.

Like NH-NL Cum, ASX Advance-Decline Line is also bearish, but not quite as bleak as NH-NL Cum.

It is, however,  below its 10-DMA and its 20-DMA.  

% of Stocks above key moving averages.

1.  % of stocks above 10-Day Moving Average: Last Week 74%, This Week 52%.

2.  % of stocks above 50-Day Moving Average, Last Week 38%, This Week 30%.

3.  % of stocks above 200-Day Moving Average, Last Week 40%, This Week 37%

This is another indicator of weak breadth.  Despite the rise in the XJO the %age of stocks above key Moving Averages fell this week.

Weak breadth is often a leading indicator for falls in the market.

Conclusion.

1.  Monthly, Weekly and Daily charts in sync - non-trending.  (Traders will play the ranges)

2..  Breadth is poor, so the most likely direction is down.  If breadth continues to be poor, we can expect a break down from the ranges, and a continuation of the bear market.  Perhaps not this week, but its not far off.

3.  50/200 DMAs are almost connected - that's stiff resistance.  Any rise is likely to be short-term when the XJO hits dual resistance of those two major MAs.

Finspiration Australia. Chart Analysis of Australian and International stock markets.

 28/5/22 Yesterday in Australia.

XJO remains in a bearish PRT band and sitting at horizontal resistance at 7813.  Given events overnight, XJO is highly likely to breach resistance and could be above the Medium Term Line of the PRT Bands.

Overnight.

Dow Jones +1.76%.  SP500 +2.47%.  Nasdaq +3.33%.  Small Caps +2.31%.  Banks +1.27%.

SP500.

SP500 has completed a double bottom and is above its Mid Line.

It remains in a bearish PRT Band, with a major resistance level just over-head at 4170.  That might result in some consolidation, but further ahead is looking likely, with the next target at 4306.  

Commodities.

Apart from Gold (flat +0.05%),  Commodities had good rises overnight in sync with equities.

Commodities Index +1.19%.  Energy +1.5%.  Base Metals +1.62%.  Agriculture +0.63%.

NY Advances-Declines Line.

NY A-D Line is in a clear short-term up-trend above both the 10DMA and 20DMA.   10DMA x-over above the 20DMA is imminent.  That's a bullish indicator.

Finspiration Australia. Chart Analysis of Australian and International Stock Marke

   Weekly Wrap - Week ending 20 May, 2022.

XJO Monthly Chart.

After three weeks of May, the monthly chart is range bound 6970-7630.  

The chart is currently below the 8-month EMA but it is essentially sideways.  

We need about another week of data to see how the Monthly chart is travelling

Weekly Chart.

XJO was positive this week, +1%, breaking four weeks in a row to the downside.

The chart is range bound, in concert with the monthly chart.  Medium term, the chart the chart remains bearish..  Hull MA13 is blue (bearish); Supertrend (1.5/7) is blue (bearish) and the chart is below the 8-Week EMA is heading down (bearish).  RSI and CCI are below their mid-lines (bearish) and Stochastic has fallen below its signal line (bearish).

The chart is, however, at the lower end of the range so we'll probably see a move to the upside in the coming week.

The chart shows a trading range in round figures from 7630 to 6930.  This week XJO finished at 7075.  

Daily Chart.

In the short-term, this chart is looking positive.  Indicators in the lower panels have turned up; Hull MA13 and Supertrend (1.5/7) in the top chart are also bullish.

The chart has now formed a higher low, that's half-way to concluding a new up-trend.  We still need to see a higher high to complete the criteria for an up-trend.

The daily chart is, thus, out of sync with the weekly chart - that's typical in a range-bound market.

Sector Changes - past week.

This chart shows the performance of each sector (plus Gold Miners, XJO, BEAR and IAF) over the past week.  

Pluses and minuses for sectors were evenly spread with six sectors up and five sectors down.  Materials (XMJ +3.65%) had a return to form as did Information Technology (XIJ +5.04%).  

Consumer Staples (XSJ -3.45%) was the worst after a poor report from Woolworths (WOW -6.08%) and a big fall in URW -7.87% after a big sale of stock under market value.

New Highs - New Lows Cumulative.

NH-NL Cumulative continues to fall and is now well under its 10-Day Moving Average, that's a big red danger sign for long-term investors.  

ASX Advance-Decline Line.

Like NH-NL Cum, ASX Advance-Decline Line is also bearish, but not as bleak as NH-NL Cum.

It is nudging on its 5-Week Moving Average and another good week would take it over that metric.

% of Stocks above key moving averages.

1.  % of stocks above 10-Day Moving Average: Last Week 20%, This Week 74%.

2.  % of stocks above 50-Day Moving Average, Last Week 36%, This Week 38%.

3.  % of stocks above 200-Day Moving Average, Last Week 33%, This Week 40%

Two out of three are below 50% level - which confirms the bearish status of the ASX.  This week's bounce has resulted in a bounce in the shortest term metric.  That could be the start of a medium-term trend reversal.

Last week I noted:   This is the second week in a row where %Stocks above 10-DMA has been 20% or below.  That's another contrarian signal for a short-term bounce.  We got that bounce this week.

The above chart compares the performance of XSJ Consumer Staples (yellow and blue candles) with XDJ Consumer Discretionary (blue and grey candles).  

If consumers are confident about the economy, they are usually happy to splurge on big ticket, discretionary items - companies such as Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi and car retailers.  If consumers are not so confident about the economy, consumers tend to delay buying big ticket items.  

Conclusion.

1.  Weekly and daily charts out of sync - typical of a range-bound market.  Traders will play the ranges.

2..  Short to medium term is looking good for further upside.  We've probably seen a bottom in the medium-term.

I gave three beaten down stocks as tips last week ALL, REH, JHX.  

     ALL:  Buy at or above 33.06.  Stop Loss at 31.64.

     REH:  Buy at or above 16.00.  Stop Loss at 15.02.

     JHX:  Buy at or above 40.64.  Stop Loss at 39.06

ALL triggered a buy on Thursday when it hit 33.06.  It finished Friday at 35.17.  That's a gain of +6.4% so far.  Move stop up to break even at 33.06.  Continue to move the stop up if ALL continues rising.

REH triggered a buy stop on Monday at 16.00, but continued to fall the rest of the week.  Stop Loss still not triggered.  REH is currently sitting on a loss of -3.4%.

JHX didn't trigger a buy stop.  No trade.  Forget about JHX,

From the two trades, we're sitting on a gain of +3%.

Finspiration Australia. Chart Analysis of the Australian and International Stock Markets.

Yesterday in Australia. 

XJO up strongly yesterday +1.93%.  The bullish engulfing candle combined with positive divergence on the CCI promises more upside.  This should produce at least a counter-trend rally - but I'm not expecting a change to overall bear market conditions.

Overnight in the U.S.

The positive action in Australia yesterday flowed around the world with Europe up more than +2% and the U.S. up strongly.

Dow Jones +1.47%.  SP500 +2.39%.  Nasdaq +3.82%.  Small Caps +2.4%.  Banks +1.09%.

SP500.

Last night saw good carry-through buying from the previous session's intra-day buying.

A counter-trend rally is in place.  1st Horizontal Resistance Level is at 4170; 2nd Horizontal Resistance Level is at 4306.  If 2HR is reached, that would represent a rise of +11.6%.  1HR would be +8.1%.

Commodities.

Commodities Index +1.37%.  Energy +1.42%.  Base Metals +1.47%.  Agriculture +0.96%.  Gold -0.81%.

NY Advance-Decline Line.

NYAD remains in a long-term down trend.  Until we can see that down trend reversed, long-term investors should remain defensive.

  Weekly Wrap - Week ending 29 April, 2022.

XJO Monthly Chart.

March was a good month for the XJO, up +6.39%.   April has settled back a little, down -0.66% for the month.  Despite that fall, the 8-Month EMA and Hull MA13 remain bullish.  That's a good long-term guide for investors.  It's not without qualification, as I show later in the report.

Weekly Chart.

XJO was negative this week, -0.51%, the second down week in a row.  

The long tail on the weekly candle shows strong buying during the week after an early fall.

It remains above the 8-Week EMA. Supertrend (1.5/7) and  Hull Moving Average remain bullish.  

Daily Chart.

This week was a short four-day week due to Anzac Day.  The previous Friday was very weak and that carried over into Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thursday and Friday rebounded but not enough to cancel out the falls on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Indicators are indecisive with Supertrend (1.5/7) turning bullish, but Hull MA13 remains bearish.  Overhead resistance is at 7472 and then major resistance at 7628.  Given events in America on Friday night (SP500 -3.63%) our market will fall at least 1% on Monday.

Using multiple time-frame analysis, Monthly and Weekly XJO remain bullish.  Daily XJO is indecisive and out of sync with the Monthly and Weekly Charts..  Wait for all time frames to get back in sync before re-entering the market.

XJO and SP500 compared.

The chart above shows the performance of the SP500 (America - blue and grey candles) with the XJO (Australia - yellow and blue candles) over the past 100 trading days.

The two indices were more or less in sync from early December to early February.  They then tended to diverge.  There is still a degree of correlation, but we can see that the Australian market is well ahead of the American market.

The Australian and American stock markets are very different beasts.  The Australian market is dominated by miners and financial services, while the American market is dominated by technology stocks.  Technology stocks tend to be heavily leveraged, so they tend to do less well in environment where interest rates are rising.  Hence the divergence in the two particularly in the past month. 

Sector Changes - past week.

This chart shows the performance of each sector (plus Gold Miners, XJO, BEAR and IAF) over the past week.  XJO was down -0.51%.  Five sectors were up and six down.  Unfortunately, among the six down sectors were the two biggest sectors, Financials (XXJ -0.7%) and Materials (XMJ -1.14%).

As a general rule, look for stocks in the best sectors and avoid stocks in the worst sectors.  For example, look to Utilities (XUJ), Industrials (XNJ) and Property (XPJ) for stocks to buy.  Avoid Information Technology (XIJ), Materials (XMJ).  (Exceptions to that general rule could occur.)  XUJ is now very overbought and probably not a serious contender for current buying - look to buy the dip.

Materials

A major driver of the Australian market has been the Materials Index which can be quite volatile as the above chart shows.  On Tuesday, XMJ hit its oblique support level and rebounded.  A break down through that oblique support level could see a serious decline in XMJ affecting the broad market.

New Highs - New Lows Cumulative.

NH-NL Cumulative is in a consolidation phase and has tipped well under its 10-Day Moving Average, that's a caution sign for long-term investors.  It continues to deteriorate and should be taken seriously by long-term investors.  Look to take a defensive stance in the market.

% of Stocks above key moving averages.

1.  % of stocks above 10-Day Moving Average, 57%.

2.  % of stocks above 50-Day Moving Average, 65%.

3.  % of stocks above 200-Day Moving Average, 57%.

All three are above 50% level - which confirms the bullish status of the ASX

Bonds versus Stocks.

At the end of the week, Stocks had an advantage over Bonds, but only just.  This is a chart of relativities, not absolutes.  

The relativity has weakened with the chart now below its 10-Day MA.  At this stage, at the end of the week, stocks have a slight relative advantage over bonds.  But the case for stocks over bonds is weakening.

Offence or Defence?

The above chart compares the performance of XSJ Consumer Staples (yellow and blue candles) with XDJ Consumer Discretionary (blue and grey candles).  

If consumers are confident about the economy, they are usually happy to splurge on big ticket, discretionary items - companies such as Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi and car retailers.  If consumers are not so confident about the economy, consumers tend to delay buying big ticket items.  

Consumer Staples are much more resilient to lack of confidence in the economy.  While they may delay purchasing a new refrigerator or Apple computer, consumers will still buy toilet paper and breakfast cereal.  In Australia, big retailers like Woolworths and Coles dominate the Consumer Staples market.

We can see in the above graph, that XDJ and XSJ were more or less in sync until February this year, when XSJ chart began to dominate the XDJ chart.  

That suggests that investors need to take on a more defensive posture than they had last year.

Conclusion.

1.  The monthly, weekly and daily charts are out of sync.  While they remain out of sync, it's best to wait till then are back in sync (all bullish) before committing more money to the market.

2.  XSJ/XDJ suggests a defensive posture in investments.

3.  Negative correlation between the NH-NL Line and the XJO may be predicting further falls in our market.

4.  Price action on the last two days of the week, but a very negative result in the U.S. on Friday night suggests we could see some serious falls coming up in the next few days.

5.  Materials (XMJ) was one of the mainstays in our market for the past few months.  A break lower below its oblique support line could result in major falls in our broad market.

Stay defensive until the market conditions improve.

Finspiration Australia. Technical Analysis of the Australian and International Stock Markets.

 In Australia yesterday.

XJO up strongly yesterday, +1.06%.  That action took the index back above the 200-Day MA.  Supertrend (1.5/7) also switched from short-term bearish to short-term bullish.

Events last night in the U.S. will probably see the XJO give up all of yesterday's gains and test the 200-Day MA as support.

It should be noted that the XJO is doing much better than the American SP500 (see chart below).

Last night in America,  Stocks smashed, led down by Amazon -14%.

Dow Jones -2.77%.  SP500 -3.63%.  Nasdaq -4.17%.  Small Caps -2.59%.  Banks -3.29%.

That's a very dismal set of figures.  But, CCI might be showing the start of a bullish divergence. 

SP500.

SP500 fell heavily last night and broke below recent support.  All 11 Sectors on the NYSE fell.

CCI is showing a small positive divergence, but nothing is showing up yet on MFI.  I'd feel more comfortable about a rebound if both indicators were showing positive divergences.

As mentioned above, XJO is doing better than the SP500.  XJO is a little above its 200-Day MA, but SP500 is about -8% below its 200-Day MA.  That's a big advantage in favour of XJO.  

Commodities.

Commodities Index -0.76%.  Energy -0.39%.  Base Metals -1.82%. Agriculture -1.08%.  Gold -0.01%.

No joy in those figures for Australia's big resource companies.

NY Advance-Decline Line.

NY A-D Line remains bearish.  It turned down in November well before major NY indices turned down.  A-D Line tends to be a leading indicator.  Until we see improvement in the A-D Line, it will pay to stay defensive.