Message-ID: <8703678.1075841347205.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 14:29:53 -0800 (PST) From: trader@iac.net To: oexchaos@yahoo.com Subject: Institutional Sentiment & Analysis 1/26/02 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: "Steward Analytics, Inc" @ENRON X-To: oexchaos@yahoo.com X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \ExMerge - Neal, Scott\Deleted Items X-Origin: NEAL-S X-FileName: scott neal 6-26-02.PST Results of the Fearless Forecaster Sentiment Poll taken after the close on 1/25 Response was to this question: "At the end of next week will the S & P 500 close up (bull), down (bear), or unchanged/no opinion (neutral)?" IT BULLS: 28% IT BEARS: 40% Our `Smart Money' Poll was twice as Bullish as Bearish and Neutral. The Senticator is Bearish. Last week, we said that our read was that we would find room to rally this week, but overall, the trend was down so once the oversold condition was corrected, the market could decline. This week, we have a mixed bag but it looks like our comments from last week can be recycled. The "Smart Money" is fairly Bullish, and we really haven't worked off much of the short-term pessimism yet. The Senticator is Bearish, and so are the Fearless Forecasters. We don't have a ton of confidence in our read, but our guess is that we see a bit of strength to make the "Smart Money" guys feel good, but by the end of the week we are heading south as the Senticator and Fearless Forecasters predict. This is a very odd market, we must say, short term, and sentiment is giving very mixed signals, as measured by Rydex Ratios and the VIX. Investors Intelligence shows quite a few more Bulls at 52.4%, which suggests that we have more downside from here than upside. Big picture, as before, we believe the recent dead-even Bull and Bear readings from the Fearless Forecasters, as well as the AAII and Investors Intelligence sentiment readings indicate that a Top of Intermediate Proportions is in. Mark Young See www.Traders-Talk.com in the Market Analysis area for a historical chart of the FF sentiment. ABOUT SENTIMENT AND ANALYSIS The Fearless Forecaster Sentiment Poll is taken each Friday from a generally static pool of experienced technical analysts (both private and professional). The Fearless Forecaster Sentiment is not normally a good fade, though there are times when it can be. The Fearless Forecaster sentiment data is useful on the short term; the Fearless Forecasters tend to be right. Typically they are right sooner rather than later, if there's a large plurality. On the flip side of the equation, if 90% or more are Bullish or Bearish, the odds of them being right over the very short term are huge, but the odds of a major turn (in the opposite direction) soon thereafter are also quite good. We have also found that when the Fearless Forecasters are evenly split, look for a BIG move in either direction, but usually down. Over the years, we have found a number of other tools to help in evaluating the Fearless Forecaster Sentiment. We publish this in our weekly "Institutional Sentiment & Analysis" (a part of our institutional research). These additional tools are our "Smart Money" poll, and our Senticator. Both are proprietary polls run by us. We have found that the Senticator tends to be right by the end of the week (as much as 87% of the time), though it tends to be more accurate in a rising market than a falling one. The "Smart Money" pollees are very useful when there is divergent opinion. It's generally NOT a good idea to fade the "Smart Money" unless "'EVERYONE'" (all sentiment measures) is in agreement. When in doubt about the meaning of the Fearless Forecaster Sentiment Poll, defer to the "Smart Money" poll. The "Smart Money" guys are folks with whom I've worked or whom I've watched for YEARS. They all have different approaches and they're all VERY good (not infallible, just good analysts/traders). http://www.decisionpoint.com/affiliate/0ffsi.GIF