Bespoke Short Interest Report: 11/25/15
This content is for members onlyJobless Claims Back Down to 260K
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, Jobless claims were released a day early this week and managed to come in below expectations. While economists were expecting first time claims to come in at 270K, the actual reading fell by 12K to 260K. This was the lowest weekly reading in a month, and just 5K above the cycle low of 255K that we saw in mid-July. At a time when most economic data has disappointed, jobless claims are a positive standout.
Although we saw a nice drop in the weekly reading, the four-week moving average for jobless claims remained unchanged at 271K. That’s because we also dropped a reading of 260K from the four-week count. It has now been five weeks since this indicator last made a cycle low of 259.25K on 10/23.
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, jobless claims increased by 41K this week, but before we start panicking, keep in mind that NSA claims typically rise at this time of year. In fact, this week’s reading of 305.8K was more than 100K below the average of 407K for the current week of the year and the lowest since 1973.
The Closer 11/24/15 – “GDP Wrap Up, Case-Shiller Update”
Looking for deeper insight on global markets and economics? In The Closer tonight we spend several pages looking at some interesting revisions and new data released this morning by the BEA in its first revision to Q3 GDP figures. We also update our S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index charts, including the heatmap below.
The Closer also includes its standard charts, large volume and price movers in the US equity market, and Bespoke’s Market Timing Model. The Closer is one of our most popular reports, and you can sign up for a trial below to see it free for the next two weeks!
[thrive_leads id=’58717′]Home Depot (HD) Surges, Most Overbought Dow Stock
Home Depot (HD) is on quite a run since it reported earnings a week ago. As shown below, the stock headed into its earnings report testing support at its 50-day moving average, and it now sits at new highs after experiencing a very nice upside breakout. We’d caution against jumping in until short-term overbought levels are worked off, but in general this is a name that remains in a strong uptrend.
Below is an updated look at our trading range screen for the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks. For each stock, the dot represents where it is currently trading within its range, while the tail end represents where it was trading one week ago. You can see Home Depot’s (HD) surge into extreme overbought territory very clearly, as it’s the most extended stock in the index right now. Other names just pushing into overbought territory include Apple (AAPL) — welcome back!, Coca-Cola (KO), Nike (NKE), and Procter & Gamble (PG). On the downside, Pfizer (PFE) and UnitedHealth (UNH) are the only two stocks in the index oversold and trending downward.
