It is a commonplace that fundamental investors are always skeptical of technical analysis. No matter. When the fundamentals of the economy and the outlook for earnings get murky — which is exactly what is happening in January — active investors turn to technical analysis. And the technicals are looking very strong. The S & P closed at a new high for the year Thursday, up 5.75% for the year.
The rally is broad-based, with both value and growth stocks in the S & P 500 up almost equally . "These signals favor a bullish turn for US equities," Stephen Suttmeier, chief equity technical strategist at Bank of America Global Research, told me. Breaking that downtrend line in the S & P 500 and getting decisively above the 200-day moving average "is a key signal that the bulls need entering 2023," he said.