“The trend is your friend, until the end when it bends.”

How often have you heard this adage? More importantly, how often do you follow it?

Chasing stocks, whether it’s one that was texted to you as the next high-flying AI stock, a popular meme stock, or the next hot IPO, can be tempting. If you’re lucky, the price moves in your favor, you get elated, and you throw one heck of a party. Alas, the story doesn’t always end this way. The stock market can catch you off guard. It gives you several opportunities, but also unexpectedly robs them from you. This is especially true during an overextended market.

Any negative news headlines make investors nervous, leading them to make irrational decisions. To avoid falling into the trap of buying and selling stocks at the wrong time, take the smart approach and set some basic rules to follow.

Rule 1: Determine the Market’s Long-term Trend

You want to trade in the direction of the long-term trend—buy when the trend is up and sell when it is down. Buying stocks when the overall trend is declining can be like catching a falling knife, while selling stocks when the trend is rising could mean missing sizable moves. To determine the overall direction of the stock market’s long-term trend, look at a chart of a benchmark index, such as the S&P 500 ($SPX), that covers at least one year.

We’ll examine the weekly chart of the S&P 500 (see below). Overall, the index has trended higher for the last five years, but there have been pullbacks, some longer and more severe than others (pink shaded areas). The index is going through a pullback now, although we won’t know the magnitude of it until it’s over.

FIGURE 1. WEEKLY CHART OF THE S&P 500. Overall, the trend in the benchmark has been bullish, although there have been periods of declines and pullbacks. The index is going through a decline.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

From January 2022 to October 2022, the S&P 500 declined over 20%. Many Wall Street analysts expected the decline to continue, but the S&P 500 recovered, ending 2023 with a 26.3% gain and 2024 with a 23.31% gain. There were a few minor pullbacks along the way, some more pronounced than others (end of 2023 and July to August 2024).

Nobody knows what the market will do, but, when you see a pullback forming—and it looks like one is forming—don’t plan on opening long positions. If you’re not convinced the market is pulling back, view a daily chart of the S&P 500 to see if it aligns with the weekly chart’s trend. If both indicate a downtrend or the two don’t align, you need to dig deeper.

Rule 2: Is Market Breadth Expanding or Contracting?

Market breadth is an effective method to uncover the percentage of stocks participating in the uptrend. The Bullish Percent Index (BPI) is one of several breadth indicators available in StockCharts and is available for indexes, sectors, and industry groups.

The chart below displays the BPI for the S&P 500 in the upper panel ($BPSPX) against the daily chart of the S&P 500 in the lower panel. When the BPI is above 50%, it indicates the bulls have an edge. When it’s below 50%, the bears have an edge.

FIGURE 2. DAILY CHART OF S&P 500 BULLISH PERCENT INDEX VS. S&P 500. Note the uptrends in the S&P 500 coincide with a BPI greater than 50. The downtrend in the S&P 500 coincides with an S&P 500 BPI of less than 50.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

In the last year, besides the pullback periods in the S&P 500, the bulls have had the upper hand. If you wanted to invest in an S&P 500 stock when the bulls were in control, your first task is to find one that aligns with the bullish move.

Rule 3: Buy on Up Days, Sell on Down Days

Let’s focus on the period between August 9, 2024, and December 18, 2024, to coincide with the period when the BPI was greater than 50 and examine a hollow candlestick chart of Apple, Inc. (AAPL), one of the top cap-weighted stocks in the S&P 500.

FIGURE 3. DAILY CHART OF APPLE STOCK. From August 9 to December 18, 2024, which coincides with the S&P 500 BPI > 50, the stock price trended higher, displaying a series of hollow green candles at the front and tail end of the period.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Hollow candlestick charts are visually interesting and have the advantage of identifying a trend quickly. The upward movement began a few days before August 9, when there was a significant gap down in AAPL’s price. Even though it was a down day, the bar was hollow, which means the close was higher than the open.

Looking at all three charts, August 9 presented an opportune buy signal. It aligned with the bullish BPI and the long-term trend in the weekly and daily charts.

If you had hypothetically opened a long position, you could have exited your position on December 18, when the BPI turned bearish and made a decent return. You could have held on for a few more days, but the stock sold off quickly, so your exit would depend on how well your sell order got filled.

Regardless, you should have exited the position during the series of down days that started on December 27. If you hadn’t closed your position then and were still holding on to it, you would have been caught in the downward spiral that started when the S&P 500 BPI fell below 50 on February 27.

StockCharts Tip

Hollow candlestick charts differ from the traditional filled candlestick charts. To apply hollow candle charts, click the Hollow Candles button under Chart Attributes.

The Bottom Line

Given the erratic nature of the stock market, especially an over-extended one, a smart approach to investing requires following a set of rules. It doesn’t have to be complicated.

Identifying the long-term trend, checking the market’s breadth, and ensuring the trend of a stock you want to buy aligns with the overall market is a simple approach, but applying it successfully in real time takes practice. Practice applying the rules using a simulated account. There’s no better teacher than yourself.

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

The market sell-off continued in earnest after a brief respite on Friday. Uncertainty of geopolitical tensions and tariff talk has spooked the market and given the weakness of mega-cap stocks, we are likely to see more downside before a snapback rally.

Carl was off today so Erin had the controls! She started off the trading room with a review of the DP Signal Tables to get a sense of market strength and weakness. She then analyzed indicator charts on the SPY and finished with a look at key areas of the market: Bitcoin, Dollar, Gold, Gold Miners, Yields, Bonds and Crude Oil.

After the market review Erin took a look at the Magnificent Seven daily and weekly charts. Not one of them were showing strength. Most had lost key support levels and were heading lower.

Erin then walked us through sector rotation. It is clear that the defensive sectors of the market are leading the way with the exception of Utilities which have been in a declining trend. Erin dove into the Energy sector, looking under the hood to determine if the current rally will continue.

She finished the trading room with a review of viewer symbol requests that included: PAYC, VLO and LLY among others.

Don’t forget that you can join us live in the trading room by registering once at this link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_D6iAp-C1S6SebVpQIYcC6g#/registration

We love doing the trading room, but we do have to make a living! Come try out any of our subscriptions for two weeks free with our trial coupon code: DPTRIAL2. You’ll find our subscriptions here: https://www.decisionpoint.com/products.html

01:21 DP Signal Tables

04:44 Market Analysis

18:05 Questions

21:47 Magnificent Seven

32:39 Sector Rotation

38:08 Symbol Requests

The DP Alert: Your First Stop to a Great Trade!

Before you trade any stock or ETF, you need to know the trend and condition of the market. The DP Alert gives you all you need to know with an executive summary of the market’s current trend and condition. It not only covers the market! We look at Bitcoin, Yields, Bonds, Gold, the Dollar, Gold Miners and Crude Oil! Only $50/month! Or, use our free trial to try it out for two weeks using coupon code: DPTRIAL2. Click HERE to subscribe NOW!

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Technical Analysis is a windsock, not a crystal ball. –Carl Swenlin

(c) Copyright 2025 DecisionPoint.com

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional. Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author, and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

DecisionPoint is not a registered investment advisor. Investment and trading decisions are solely your responsibility. DecisionPoint newsletters, blogs or website materials should NOT be interpreted as a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any security or to take any specific action.

Helpful DecisionPoint Links:

Trend Models

Price Momentum Oscillator (PMO)

On Balance Volume

Swenlin Trading Oscillators (STO-B and STO-V)

ITBM and ITVM

SCTR Ranking

Bear Market Rules

Sector Shake-Up: Defensive Moves and Tech’s Tumble

Last week’s market volatility stirred up the sector rankings, with six out of 11 sectors changing positions. While the top three remain steady, we see a clear rotation from cyclical to more defensive sectors. Let’s dive into the details and see what the charts tell us.

The weekly sector ranking has undergone some significant changes:

Communication Services (XLC) are holding firm. Financials (XLF) maintain their position. Consumer discretionary remains steady but is showing weakness. Consumer Staples (XLP) is the new entrant to the top 5, while Utilities (XLU) Holds its ground at #5.

The big story here is the rise of defensive sectors. Health Care (XLV) made a notable jump from 10th to 6th place, while Technology (XLK) took a nosedive from 4th to 10th. This shift is characteristic of the broader shift from cyclical to defensive plays.

The New Sector Lineup

1. (1) Communication Services – (XLC)
2. (2) Financials – (XLF)
3. (3) Consumer Discretionary – (XLY)
4. (6) Consumer Staples – (XLP)*
5. (5) Utilities – (XLU)
6. (10) Healthcare – (XLV)*
7. (9) Real-Estate – (XLRE)*
8. (7) Industrials – (XLI)*
9. (8) Energy – (XLE)*
10. (4) Technology – (XLK)*
11. (11) Materials – (XLB)

Weekly RRG: A Tale of Two Sides

The weekly Relative Rotation Graph (RRG), printed above, paints an interesting picture. We see only three sectors on the right-hand side of the graph, with the rest clustered on the left. But their movements are telling:

• XLC is in the leading quadrant, moving northeast — a positive sign.
• XLF has turned back up into the leading quadrant, reinforcing its #2 spot.
• XLY is in the weakening quadrant with a long tail, heading towards lagging — a potential red flag

On the left side:

• XLK’s rotation is clearly weak, pushing further into the lagging quadrant.
• Meanwhile, XLP and XLU show strength, moving with positive RRG headings in the improving quadrant.

Daily RRG: Confirming the Weekly Story

When we look at the daily RRG, we get some additional context:

• XLC has curled up in the weakening quadrant, supporting its positive weekly rotation
• XLF is confirming its positive move in the leading quadrant
• XLY is the outlier — its short tail in the lagging quadrant doesn’t bode well for maintaining its #3 position
• XLP shows the strongest RS ratio reading on the daily chart, complementing its positive weekly movement.
• XLU has lost some relative momentum over the last day, but nothing too concerning at this point.

The Top Five Charts

Communication Services – XLC

XLC is playing around with its old resistance line, now expected to act as support.

Monday’s price action shows a slight revival, but it’s too early to call.

The relative strength remains robust, with a clear series of higher highs and higher lows on the raw RS line.

Financials – XLF

XLF has broken its rising support line and completed a topish formation.

We’re now eyeing the next support level, around $47.25.

Despite this, XLF’s relative performance remains strong, with both RRG lines moving higher.

Consumer Discretionary – XLY

After completing a top formation, XLY is now testing support around 200.

It appears to be moving back into its old rising channel — and if my rule holds true, we might see it test the lower boundary.

This suggests significant downside risk for the sector.

Consumer Staples – XLP

XLP, the newcomer to the top 5, is pushing against overhead resistance in the $83.50-84 area. A break here could give the sector a significant boost.

The improvement in relative strength is already evident, pulling both RRG lines higher.

Utilities – XLU

XLU remains in a sideways pattern, potentially settling into a narrower range between $75.50 and $80.50.

Its relative strength is also range-bound but still pulling both RRG lines up — enough to keep it in the top 5.

Portfolio Performance Update

The technology position was exited and swapped for the consumer staples position against Monday’s opening prices.

As of about 45 minutes after opening, the portfolio performance stands at -3.19% since inception, compared to the SPY benchmark at -3.39%. We’re about 20 basis points ahead — not making a big dent, but keeping pace with the S&P 500 for now.

Going forward, I’ll be including both the performance table and the list of open positions in these articles for better tracking.

Summary

The market’s rotation towards defensive sectors is becoming increasingly evident. Consumer discretionary looks vulnerable, while consumer staples and utilities show strength.

#StayAlert, –Julius

The next step in the stock market will be very interesting. I’ve been discussing a potential Q1 correction since our MarketVision event the first week of January and it’s here. The NASDAQ 100 ($NDX), from its high on February 19th (22222.61) to its low on Friday (19736.81), fell 11.19% before rallying Friday. The NASDAQ 100’s correction has been reached. The small cap Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) hit a high of 244.25 on November 25th. Its low Friday was 201.73. That’s a 17.41% tumble, which is approaching bear market territory.

S&P 500 – Head & Shoulders Pattern?

So what about the benchmark S&P 500? Well, there’s plenty to consider, but I’ll give you my thoughts on what could happen here:

Looking at the above chart, here are several thoughts I have:

• The July price high should provide at least short-term support and it did on Friday as we saw a rally as soon as the S&P 500 touched this prior high/current support.
• Volume has accelerated on this most recent selling.
• We have potentially formed a down-sloping neckline in a topping head & shoulders pattern.
• Price momentum (PPO) is as weak as it was in early August.
• RSI has broken 40 support, which is usually a key in remaining in an uptrend.
• Selling thus far has taken the S&P 500 down 7.83% at Friday’s low, a bit shy of a 10% correction.
• If we bounce into a potential right shoulder, it’ll be important to see how money rotates; if the current downtrend remains in play, then I doubt we’ll see the S&P 500 clear 5900 on a bounce, especially if leadership on that bounce is poor.
• A VERY EARLY head & shoulders projection would suggest a possible move on the S&P 500 to 5225 or so.

Fundamental news the next two weeks, along with the market’s reaction and rotation, will likely determine our path over the next month or so. Here are the critical economic releases/events to put on your calendar:

• Consumer Price Index (CPI) – Wednesday, March 12th, 8:30am ET
• Producer Price Index (PPI) – Thursday, March 13th, 8:30am ET
• Fed (FOMC) Meeting – Tuesday, March 18th – Wednesday, March 19th (policy statement at 2:00pm ET)

Listen, this recent selloff has been widely expected, if you follow market rotation and sentiment, and keep a healthy dose of perspective handy. Everyone likes to use fundamental arguments and their perception of the market environment to call bear markets……nearly every year. Few pay attention when the warning signs are out there, but everyone becomes an expert after the market begins to tumble.

I absolutely remain long-term bullish and believe that, once the current bearish phase ends, the S&P 500 will rally back to all-time highs. We may have to endure further pain first though. I doubt we’ve seen the ultimate 2025 bottom. We’ll need some very good news on CPI, PPI, and from the Fed meeting. I’d give that a 20-25% chance at this point.

Sentiment

For awhile, the 5-day SMA of the equity only put call ratio suggested that traders had grown way too bullish in the near-term and this is a contrarian indicator, meaning that the stock market usually moves opposite of sentiment, especially if the bullish or bearish sentiment extends too long. Take a look at the CPCE 5-day SMA over the past year:

I use the .55 level as the level at which options traders are growing too bullish and it signals a potential short-term top. On the above 1-year chart, you can see how effective 5-day SMA readings were in marking multiple short-term tops (red-dotted vertical lines). However, over the past 4-5 months, the 5-day SMA reading nearly lived at .55 or below (big red circle). That’s an extended period of bullishness and you can see that the S&P 500 really struggled to print higher highs (black curved line), despite all of the optimism and bullishness among options traders.

The 5-day SMA of the CPCE at .75 also has a tendency to suggest a short-term market bottom as options traders grow overly pessimistic. Look at where we are now. Despite a near bear market in small caps, a correction on the NDX, and a near-correction on the S&P 500, the 5-day SMA of the CPCE remains WELL BELOW .75 and even fell last week! This simply suggests that optimism remains and that could lead to further selling in the weeks ahead.

It’s EB Education Week!

Given the prior warning signs and the recent increased market volatility, we’ve encouraged members over the past couple months to be careful and that cash is absolutely a position to consider. It also is a GREAT time to think about ways to better your trading success. I know many of you have followed me over the years, so I thought it would be an awesome time to discuss much of our research and how we do things at EarningsBeats.com. So for one week only, we are going to show exactly how we put together all of our ChartLists on the StockCharts.com platform.

These are intended to be brief “classes” this week, all starting at 5:30pm ET and lasting 45 minutes or so each. If you can’t attend any (or all) of these events live, no worries at all. We’ll record them and make sure all that register receive a copy of the recording.

To learn more, register, and save yourself a spot, sign up here. It’s time to gear up now, during this market weakness, for a better market and rally ahead. Join us and learn to trade smarter!

Happy trading!

Tom

In this exclusive StockCharts video, Julius analyzes sector rotation in US markets, assessing recent damage and potential downside risks. He examines the Equal Weight RSP vs. Cap-Weighted SPX ratio and the stocks vs. bonds relationship to identify key market trends. Don’t miss this deep dive into market rotation and what it means for the next move!

This video was originally published on March 7, 2025. Click on the icon above to view on our dedicated page for Julius.

Past videos from Julius can be found here.

#StayAlert, -Julius

Things heated up this week on my daily market recap show, with support levels being busted without delay across the growth sectors.  Despite a decent up day on Friday for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, the damage through most of the week brought both indexes face-to-face with the ultimate long-term trend barometer, the 200-day moving average.

It Started With a Break of Our Line in the Sand

While we’ve been tracking the signs of internal deterioration for months, from a confirmed Hindenburg Omen signal in December to weakening breadth and momentum signals for leading stocks.  But until the S&P 500 broke below our “line in the sand” of 5850, there didn’t seem much to be concerned.  That all changed over the last week.

Why was 5850 so important?  This price level represents a pivot point, or a level which has been tested as both support and resistance.  And until and unless the S&P 500 breaks below a confirmed level of support, then the building signs of bearishness just weren’t resulting in enough price deterioration to get us very concerned.

Don’t miss the latest episodes of our Market Misbehavior podcast, featuring interviews with Kristina Hooper of Invesco, Keith Fitz-Gerald of The Fitz-Gerald Group, and Jordan Kimmel of Magnet Investing Insights!

Now that 5850 has been clearly violated to the downside, it’s all about the 200-day moving average, which both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 tested this week.  Friday’s rally kept the SPX just above its 200-day moving average, which means next week we’ll be looking for a potential break below this important trend-following mechanism.

Fibonacci Retracements Suggests Downside to 5500

What if we apply a Fibonacci framework to the last big upswing during the previous bull phase?  Using the August 2024 low and December 2024 high, that results in a 38.2% retracement level at 5722, almost precisely at the 200-day moving average.  So now we have a “confluence of support” right at this week’s price range. 

If next week sees the S&P 500 push below the 5700 level, that would mean a violation of moving average and Fibonacci support, and suggest much further downside potential for the equity benchmarks.  Using that same Fibonacci framework, I’m looking at the 61.8% retracement level around 5500 as a reasonable downside target.  With the limited pullbacks over the last two years, most finding support no more than 10% below the previous high, a breakdown of this magnitude would feel like a true bear market rotation for many investors.

Supporting Evidence from Newer Dow Theory

So despite rotating to more defensive positioning in anticipation of a breakdown, what other tools and techniques can we use to validate a new bear phase in the days and weeks to come?  An updated version of Charles Dow’s foundational work, what I call “Newer Dow Theory”, could serve as a confirmation of a negative outcome for stocks.

Charles Dow used the Dow Industrials and Dow Railroads to define the trends for the two main pillars of the US economy, the producers of goods and the distributors of goods.  For our modern service-oriented economy, I like to use the equal-weighted S&P 500 to represent the “old economy” stocks and the equal-weighted Nasdaq 100 to gauge the “new economy” names.

We can see a clear bearish non-confirmation last month, with the QQQE breaking to a new 52-week high while the RSP failed to do so.  This often occurs toward the end of a bullish phase, and can represent an exhaustion point for buyers.  Now we see both ETFs testing their swing lows from January.  If both of these prices break to a new 2025 low in the weeks to come, that would generate a confirmed bearish signal from Newer Dow Theory, and imply that the bearish targets outlined above are most likely to be reached.

Many investors are treating this recent drawdown as yet another garden variety pullback within a bull market phase.  And while we would be as happy as ever to declare a full recovery for the S&P 500, its failure to hold the 200-day moving average next week could be a nail in the coffin for the great bull market of 2024.

RR#6,

Dave

PS- Ready to upgrade your investment process?  Check out my free behavioral investing course!

David Keller, CMT

President and Chief Strategist

Sierra Alpha Research LLC

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice.  The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.  

The author does not have a position in mentioned securities at the time of publication.    Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

2025 is off to a rough start for stocks, but there are still some pockets of strength in the market. Year-to-date, SPY is down 1.73%, QQQ is down around 4% and the S&P SmallCap 600 SPDR (IJR) is down over 6%. ETFs with smaller losses show relative strength (less weakness), but ETFs with year-to-date gains show relative, and more importantly, absolute strength. This is where we should focus.

The table below shows some of the best performing equity ETFs. Three themes are clear. First, commodity-related stocks are performing well with gains in Gold Miners (GDX), Copper Miners (COPX), Materials (XLB) and Energy (XLE). Second, defensive groups are performing well with gains in Healthcare (XLV), Consumer Staples (XLP), Telecom (IYZ) and Insurance (KIE). Third, two groups within the healthcare sector are also performing well: Medical Devices (IHI) and Biotech (IBB).

Get the last ETF ChartList you will ever need – free with a trial subscription to TrendInvestorPro. Organized in a logical top-down manner, our highly curated ChartList has 59 equity ETFs, 7 commodity ETFs and 4 bond ETFs. This core list is designed for all market conditions and forms the basis for a momentum rotation strategy that I will unveil in the coming weeks. Get your ChartList today. Click here to take a trial to TrendInvestorPro.

Among the 2025 leaders, the Biotech ETF (IBB) caught my attention because it is in a long-term uptrend and recently broke out of a falling wedge. The chart below shows weekly candlesticks with resistance breaks (higher highs) in December 2023 and July 2024. We also see higher lows in April 2024 and December 2024 (gray arrows). IBB also tagged a 52-week high in September 2024. Price action may be choppy, but there is an uptrend in play with higher highs, higher lows and a 52-week high.

After tagging a new high, IBB plunged in November on news of the RFK Jr. appointment (long black candlestick). A falling wedge ultimately formed and I view this as a correction after the April-September advance. Why? Because the bigger trend is up and IBB held well above the April low. The wedge breakout signaled an end to this correction and a resumption of the bigger uptrend. Short-term, there are two levels to watch as the ETF consolidated around the breakout zone in the 137.5 area. A close below 132 (blue line) would negate the breakout and call for a re-evaluation. A breakout at 141 (pink line) would solidify the breakout and keep the uptrend alive.

Click here to take a trial, get your ETF chart list and gain full access to our strategy reports, signal page, ranking tables.

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One thing to understand about sentiment measures is that they are contrarian. If investors are too bullish or too bearish, everyone has jumped on the bandwagon and now it is time for the wheels to fall off. Right now we are seeing extraordinarily bearish sentiment coming out of the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII).

We have well over 50% of participants bearish on the market. As you can see that is a comparatively high reading, something we don’t see very often. This has brought the Bull/Bear Ratio down to 0.34! That is extremely low!

What does this mean? It means we may be arriving at an inflection point. You can see from past readings how the market does tend to turn back up when sentiment gets too bearish. Could this be what is setting up after the big declines that we’ve seen on the major indexes?

We do think that we’ll see some upside next week after Friday’s comeback rally and the fact that price is now sitting on important support and reversing. However, we don’t think that this pullback, almost correction, is over. There is still too much confusion and uncertainty over tariff talks and geopolitical concerns. The market hates uncertainty.

Conclusion: We have bearish extremes being hit on the AAII sentiment chart that does imply that we could see an upcoming rally. However, we don’t believe it will amount to much given the overall geopolitical environment. The market is still highly overvalued and that is a problem too.

The DP Alert: Your First Stop to a Great Trade!

Before you trade any stock or ETF, you need to know the trend and condition of the market. The DP Alert gives you all you need to know with an executive summary of the market’s current trend and condition. It not only covers the market! We look at Bitcoin, Yields, Bonds, Gold, the Dollar, Gold Miners and Crude Oil! Only $50/month! Or, use our free trial to try it out for two weeks using coupon code: DPTRIAL2. Click HERE to subscribe NOW!

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Technical Analysis is a windsock, not a crystal ball. –Carl Swenlin

(c) Copyright 2025 DecisionPoint.com

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional. Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author, and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

DecisionPoint is not a registered investment advisor. Investment and trading decisions are solely your responsibility. DecisionPoint newsletters, blogs or website materials should NOT be interpreted as a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any security or to take any specific action.

Helpful DecisionPoint Links:

Trend Models

Price Momentum Oscillator (PMO)

On Balance Volume

Swenlin Trading Oscillators (STO-B and STO-V)

ITBM and ITVM

SCTR Ranking

Bear Market Rules

And, the Oscar, er, top StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) goes to XPeng, Inc. (XPEV), a Chinese smart electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer. XPEV has silently crept its way to the top of the list.

The Chinese EV industry has seen increased sales in the last month. This has made the space much more competitive for Tesla, Inc. (TSLA), which is seeing its sales in China decline. With XPeng’s new SUV slated to hit the market soon, XPEV has high hopes for 2025. I’m sure we’ll hear more about this when the company announces earnings on March 18, before the US market opens.

XPeng’s stock price has been rising steadily since August 2024, attracting the attention of several Wall Street analysts, many of whom have upped their ratings on the stock. And for good reason. The chart below compares XPEV stock to TSLA stock. Since mid-December, TSLA’s stock price (black solid line) has declined while XPEV’s has risen.

FIGURE 1. XPEV’S STOCK PRICE VS. TSLA’S STOCK PRICE. TSLA was the outperformer until mid-December, after which it started declining. In February 2025, XPEV outperformed TSLA.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Technically, XPEV has a lot going for it.

• The stock is in a steady uptrend—its one-year performance is +132.81%.
• XPEV’s SCTR score of 99.9 indicates the stock is technically strong.
• The relative strength index (RSI) has just crossed 70, indicating there’s room for XPEV’s stock price to move higher.

The daily chart shows the stock price is trading close to its 52-week high of $22.80. A breakout above this level would be positive for the stock and could pave the way for the stock price to move toward its all-time high of $74.49. Let’s switch to the weekly chart of XPEV.

The weekly chart below shows XPEV’s stock price is approaching its weekly July 2023 high, which could be the more likely resistance level XPEV would have to break through.

FIGURE 2. WEEKLY CHART OF XPEV’S STOCK PRICE. The stock price is approaching its 2023 weekly high, which could act as a resistance level. The percentage price oscillator in the lower panel indicates strong momentum in the stock’s price.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

The percentage price oscillator (PPO) in the lower panel shows the stock has had strong upside momentum and could be overbought. A pullback in the stock’s price is likely to occur. If this pans out and XPEV reverses and pushes through the resistance on the weekly chart with a strong upside follow-through, it would be worth adding XPEV to your portfolio.

Keep an eye on this one. At the rate smart EVs are going, don’t be surprised to find flying cars coming to dealerships.

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

If the essence of stock investing is to buy low and sell high, then buying not just low, but at a steep discount, optimizes your potential returns. This strategy is what’s popularly called “buying the dip.”

Aside from avoiding falling knives, buying the dip as a general approach requires three things:

1. Finding tools to identify a broad range of declining stocks.
2. Selecting only those strong stocks on the verge of rebounding.
3. Formulating a market entry setup.

This article covers the first two steps, though I’ll guide you through all three. I’m emphasizing the first two because there are numerous tools—more than I can cover in a single article—to help you identify a wide range of tradable stocks.

Finding Declining Stocks Amid a Rallying Market

As the markets recovered on Wednesday from a steep two-day decline, my first step was to check the Market Movers tool on my Dashboard to see which stocks were getting hit the hardest.

FIGURE 1. MARKET MOVERS % DOWN. Crowdstrike took the top spot for the biggest percentage loss on Wednesday morning.

Crowdstrike (CRWD) was the biggest decliner, down at the time by nearly 9%. To get a broader picture of the sector action, I switched to MarketCarpets’ tech sector view. It turns out that CRWD was the worst-hit stock amid an otherwise mostly greenish landscape.

FIGURE 2. MARKETCARPETS TECH SECTOR VIEW. This tells you that CRWD was among a few tech stocks experiencing a significant drop, while others were potentially rebounding.

If you check the StockCharts’ Symbol Summary page, you can see CRWD’s earnings and revenue history. While the company recently missed earnings estimates despite beating revenue expectations, the real driver behind the decline was weak earnings guidance.

Let’s switch to a weekly chart for a broader view of CRWD’s price action.

FIGURE 3. WEEKLY CHART OF CRWD. Despite the two sharp drops, the broader trend, which is bullish, is still intact.

CRWD’s uptrend began in 2023 but tumbled sharply in July 2024 after a faulty software update triggered a global IT outage. The stock rebounded later that month, rising sharply only to fall again in February due to disappointing fiscal guidance, insider selling, regulatory scrutiny, and broader macroeconomic concerns that pressured growth stocks.

Nevertheless, the uptrend, as volatile as it is, remains arguably intact. Using the Bollinger Bands^® to gauge the trending action, you can see that CRWD has fallen below the middle band to rebound (you see this on the daily chart) at $340. Traders found this to be a favorable spot for entry, and I’ll show you why in the next section when analyzing the price action from a closer perspective.

Meanwhile, CRWD’s StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) score remains above 70 (my strength indicating threshold) though falling below the ultra-bullish 90-line. What does this look like from a broader sector perspective? Relative performance shows that CRWD is outperforming the broader tech sector (represented by XLK) by over 36%, though its lead has narrowed.

Let’s switch to a daily chart to see the price action up close.

FIGURE 4. DAILY CHART OF CRWD. Accumulation appears sharp, despite the dip.

The current pullback can be effectively measured by historical support, as shown by the green highlight and a Fibonacci Retracement from the August (2024) low to the February high. I included both since traders may analyze them separately or together, especially as their proximity suggests a potential convergence.

As you can see, bullish investors jumped in at the support level of $340, though, technically, a decline to the range between $300 and $330 would still be considered a favorable dip for those looking to go long. After the initial bounce, price appears to be falling back toward $340. If it drops below the green support range, expect a deeper pullback toward the 50% and 61.8% Fib levels.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has declined and, although it isn’t signaling oversold conditions, if CRWD does recover soon, the indicator suggests there’s plenty of room on the upside to run (though momentum doesn’t appear to be picking up yet). 

On the volume side of things, the picture looks brighter. The Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) has declined slightly but still indicates strong buying pressure. But what pops out is the Accumulation/Distribution Line (the orange line overlaid on the price chart). While the price was falling, this ADL was rising, suggesting that buyers might have been absorbing shares sold by weaker hands.

At the Close

Although I took a deep dive into CRWD, the main takeaway here is how I used Market Movers and MarketCarpets to spot potential buy-the-dip opportunities. These tools help identify stocks experiencing sharp declines while also providing a sector-wide perspective to gauge their position among peers.

If you’re looking to widen your dip-buying strategy, test these tools under different market conditions and across various stocks and sectors. The more you use them, the better you’ll become at distinguishing between a real opportunity and a falling knife.

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.