One of the most effective ways to increase our odds of success is by focusing on assets that are not only trending higher on absolute terms but also outperforming their alternatives. 

This combination is a key ingredient of strong uptrends.

Right now, Gold checks both of these boxes. 

It’s not just flirting with all-time highs, but it’s also carving out a textbook trend reversal relative to the S&P 500. 

If we see gold breaking out of this base, then it will be time to favor rocks over stocks aggressively. 

Additionally, because of gold's defensive nature, it could signal a defensive rotation, and under that scenario, stocks could face a strong headwind.

When it comes to precious metals, Sam and Jason are the go-to guys. They break it all...

A simple moving average is a lagging indicator that technicians use to help with the trend recognition process. It smooths out the erratic day-to-day action and shows us the mean price over a stated period.

A rising average is indicative of uptrends, while a falling average is indicative of downtrends.

Moving averages can also be used to analyze a market's internals.

One of my favorite ways to use them is to measure the number of stocks holding above or breaking below their long-term mean.

If a stock is above its 200-day, it’s probably not in a downtrend.

The chart below shows the S&P 500 overlaid with the percentage of NYSE stocks above their 200-day moving average.

This gives us a broad view of what is going on beneath the hood. 

During strong and healthy bull markets, I expect the indicator to remain elevated.

The other day, I wrote about how the Consumer Discretionary Sector $XLY is testing a critical polarity level.

This is one of the most risk-on groups in the market.

Bulls want to see these consumer stocks hold the line—if they do, and the market rebounds, XLY should be a good place to be.

And when we talk about consumers, we have to talk about retailers. 

Some of the largest retail stocks in our universe are at or near key levels right now. 

Let’s dive in and talk about some of our favorites:

First up, the largest retailer in the world—Amazon $AMZN.

In January, chief congressional whale Nancy Pelosi bought between $250K–$500K worth of stock. 

Say what you want about her, but when Nancy...