
KEY
TAKEAWAYS
- The S&P 500 jumped post-election, exhibiting a powerful hole.
- Sentiment indicators stay bullish, although not fairly euphoric.
- Momentum indicators, nonetheless, sign a slowdown forward for shares.
When main shifts occur available in the market, such because the one we’re seeing the morning after the election, how will you analyze investor sentiment shifts and adapt your technique to align with the place cash will doubtless circulation within the coming weeks and months?
For those who checked the markets on Wednesday morning, post-election, you woke as much as a number of outstanding occasions:
- The inventory market shot as much as a report excessive, with the Dow leaping 1,300 factors and the Russell 2000 hovering as excessive as 4%.
- The yield on the US 10-year bond surged 4.48%, indicating expectations of financial development and wider deficits.
- The US greenback rose probably the most since 2020 whereas foreign currency echange sank.
- Gold costs stabilized, although they had been down practically 2% from the steel’s October excessive.
- Silver, trying to stabilize as effectively, stays down a whopping 7% from its October excessive.
The massive query: Do these shifts sign a assured pivot to “risk-on,” or is the market’s optimism overextended?
Worth motion will inform you immediately what buyers expect out of the markets within the near-to-intermediate time period, however to get a fair clearer image, it is best to investigate the undercurrents driving market sentiment. Maybe there, you will see what most buyers value motion or following the information can not.
A Have a look at Protected Havens vs. Equities
Because the focus right here is on “threat on vs. threat off” sentiment, let’s examine two secure havens, gold ($GOLD) and silver ($SILVER), to the S&P 500 ($SPX).
FIGURE 1. COMPARATIVE CHARTS OF GOLD, SILVER, AND THE S&P 500. All three declined since October, however the S&P jumped following Tuesday’s election. Chart supply: StockChartsACP. For academic functions.
Whereas gold and silver’s uptrend are nonetheless intact, with silver displaying extra weak point than gold, the S&P 500 exhibits a optimistic jolt in cash circulation in comparison with the defensive financial metals. This image additionally tells us that market sentiment, a minimum of for the second, favors financial development prospects over fears of potential tariff-driven headwinds.
The circulation into home equities and the outflow from worldwide currencies, doubtless in anticipation of elevated tariff exercise, are most evident within the foreign exchange market, the place the US greenback index (UUP as a proxy) rose increased whereas the $EURUSD dropped following the election.
FIGURE 2. COMPARATIVE CHART OF THE DOLLAR INDEX VS EURUSD. Cash might be flowing from worldwide currencies and into US shares attributable to tariff fears.Chart supply: StockChartsACP. For academic functions.
Nonetheless, we have to take a more in-depth take a look at market sentiment from a stage deeper than what we will see on the floor. Let’s shift to a every day chart of the S&P 500.
FIGURE 3. CHART OF THE S&P 500. The 2 sentiment indicators primarily based on surveys of buyers {and professional} cash managers present that buyers are cautious, whereas the establishments are bullish.Chart supply: StockCharts.com. For academic functions.
Earlier than you take a look at the value motion, word the 2 sentiment indicators under the chart. Each are weekly surveys.
The primary indicator—the American Affiliation of Particular person Traders (AAII) index (!AAIIBULL)—is a survey of members who signify the person or “retail” crowd. The survey merely asks whether or not they’re bullish, bearish, or impartial. A studying over 50% implies that 50% or extra members are bullish on the markets. Proper now, 39.50% of the members are bullish, down from 50% in October, whereas bearish sentiment has risen to 30.90% (from slightly below 20% final month). For those who had been to make use of this indicator as a contrarian, the present sign tells you that buyers are, at finest, cautiously optimistic main as much as election day. It will be fascinating to see how this adjustments within the coming days when the brand new ranges are reported.
The second indicator—Nationwide Affiliation of Lively Funding Managers (NAAIM) index (!NAAIM)—displays the common publicity {of professional} cash managers (the institutional ‘sensible cash’) to U.S. fairness markets. Principally, its members report their fairness publicity. Just like the AAII index, contrarians search for readings close to 100 as an indication of doable distribution (and readings near 10% as an indication of doable accumulation). At present, with 82% of managers holding fairness publicity, it is a bullish sign, although not too bullish as to point euphoria.
The Chaikin Cash Stream (CMF), a momentum indicator, has dipped under the zero line, that means that promoting stress has overtaken shopping for stress. This implies a pullback is probably going, although, given the post-election uncertainty, you’d have to observe the markets intently to see what it does.
The market is mostly bullish however not by any means euphoric. The breakaway value hole you see on the chart is a really bullish sample that, traditionally a minimum of, can proceed for days with out the hole getting crammed. With that mentioned, potential help following a pullback must be measured as soon as the pullback lastly happens (which is not now). However, if the near-term pattern is certainly sturdy, count on value to stay above the help stage at roughly the $5,688 vary, which can be a essential swing low and help for the present pattern.
In brief, market sentiment is leaning towards a cautious risk-on sentiment. And regardless of cash circulation hinting at a pullback, primarily based on the symptoms, that is doubtless a possibility for accumulation quite than distribution.
On the Shut
Submit-election, buyers seem like leaning towards the “risk-on” vibe. Massive gamers hold a stable fairness publicity, whereas retail buyers are extra measured however nonetheless bullish. Whereas the market’s upbeat, it is in no way euphoric—but. So, intently watch these help ranges, sentiment indicators, and value motion (specifically, any pullback when it happens) to see if this cautious optimism sticks or fades.
Disclaimer: This weblog is for academic functions solely and shouldn’t be construed as monetary recommendation. The concepts and techniques ought to by no means be used with out first assessing your personal private and monetary scenario, or with out consulting a monetary skilled.

Karl Montevirgen is knowledgeable freelance author who focuses on finance, crypto markets, content material technique, and the humanities. Karl works with a number of organizations within the equities, futures, bodily metals, and blockchain industries. He holds FINRA Sequence 3 and Sequence 34 licenses along with a twin MFA in essential research/writing and music composition from the California Institute of the Arts.
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