Dow Theory Update for August 12: SIL and GDX, once again, close to signaling a primary bull market

Secondary reaction in stocks runs its course

  

US Stocks

The SPY, Industrials and Transports closed down.

The primary trend remains bullish, as explained here, and more in-depth here. 

The primary trend was reconfirmed as bullish on October 17^th, 2013, and November 13th, 2013 and March 7th, 2014, for the reasons given here, here and here.

So the current primary bull market signal has survived three secondary reactions.

The secondary trend is bearish, as explained here and here. No rally exceeding 3% from the secondary reaction lows has occured and, hence, we derive two implications:

a) No setup for a primary bear market signal has been completed.

b) We cannot affirm that the secondary reaction has  put its final lows yet.

 Here you have an update chart:

Stocks caught in a secondary (bearish) reaction against primary bullish trend

Gold and Silver

SLV closed down, and GLD closed up. For the reasons I explained here, and more recently here the primary trend remains bearish.

For the primary trend to turn bullish, SLV and GLD should jointly break above the secondary (bullish) reaction highs. As a reminder, the secondary reaction closing highs were made on August 27^th, 2013. From such highs the market declined without jointly violating the June 27^th, 2013 primary bear market lows.

Here I analyzed the primary bear market signal given on December 20, 2012. The primary trend was reconfirmed bearish, as explained here. The secondary trend is bullish (secondary reaction against the primary bearish trend), as explained here.

On a statistical basis the primary bear market for GLD and SLV is getting old. More than one year since the bear market signal was flashed has elapsed. However, I am extremely skeptical as to the predictive power of statistics. I prefer price action to guide me, and the Dow Theory tells me that the primary trend remains bearish until reversed. However, the secondary bullish reaction against such old primary bear market is also getting quite old. Tie. 

Furthermore, the June 27, 2013 lows remain untouched. The longer this situation lasts, the higher the odds that something might be changing. But I wait for the verdict of price action.

As to the gold and silver miners ETFs, SIL and GDX closed up.

On July 11^th, I alerted the followers of this Dow Theory blog that SIL and GDX were close to signaling a primary bull market. Go to the relevant post and chart here. On July 22^nd, I explained that the signal did not materialize yet, as you can read here. Today’s action has brought both ETFs closer to the relevant levels to be jointly broken up, as shown in the chart below.

 

If blue horizontal lines broken up, a primary bull market would be signaled for SIL and GDX

Please mind that a setup is not the real thing. So the primary trend has not turned bullish yet (or maybe “never”).

The secondary trend is bullish, as explained here. In spite of short term bullish accomplishments, SIL and GDX are not in a primary bull market.

The primary trend for SIL and GDX remains, nonetheless, bearish, as was profusely explained here and here.

Sincerely,

The Dow Theorist