Russell 2000

"Of course, what that does imply is that when the skies finally do begin to darken, the winds could rapidly wind themselves up into an F5-scale twister. Low and declining volatility, lengthening durations, compressed spreads, high multiples, little FX movement – each feeding on the other – is it too far beyond the bounds of reason to suggest that once that virtuous cycle reaches its culmination, the torsional forces involved in its unwind could be remarkably violent?"

For the 9th Tuesday of the last 11, stocks closed green with the S&P at new record highs. "Most shorted" stocks were under heavy testicular pressure but seemed the only driver supporting stocks as JPY decoupled, bonds decoupled, the USD decoupled, VIX decoupled, and credit spreads decoupled. But hey, it's Tuesday so that doesn't matter. Copper and oil were flat on the day but gold and silver (battered at the open) lost 1.5 to 2% on the day (gold's worst day in 6 months). Treasuries are 1-3bps lower in yield at the long-end with modest flattening. Volume remains abysmal. The last few minutes saw a mad buying panic come over Russell 2000 bulls which had its best day in almost 3 weeks and is up 6 of the last 7 days.

Large speculators (read - hedge funds or the supposed "smart money") have shifted their S&P 500 positioning to net short, increased their Russell 2000 short positioning and decreased their NASDAQ longs to one-year lows. Market-neutral funds have dropped exposure notably in the last week and long/short funds are well below market norms for their long positioning. But what has the bond bears really scratching their heads (as they added to their shorts in the last week) is that the last time so many people were convinced that rates can only go higher (based on CFTC data), bad things happened in stocks.

The big question remains: will the current signal be a sign of complacency, which suggests that lower prices are ahead or will the current signal be a failed signal leading to significant market gains?

On Friday we showed what the most hated (by everyone) Russell 2000 stocks are as of the most recent period (and hence most susceptible to epic short squeezes), here is a listing of what the most beloved stocks, by hedge funds, are as of March 31. One thing to note: just like in the case of first Apple, then GM, any time virtually everyone piles into the most held stock, it means just one thing - there are no marginal buyers left.

As we noted in the pre-open this morning, with the weekend just around the corner, it was virtually assured that the S&P would close at an all time high today - after all the people need to be confident when they go shopping at malls with money they don't have (but delighted by paper profits they haven't booked) so they boost the US non-GAAP GDP (at least before the BEA too, like Italy, changes the definition of GDP to include cocaine and hookers). Finally, assuring a (likely record) low-volume levitation today is the early closure of the bond pit ahead of Memorial Day holiday which also means only a skeleton crew of algos will be frontrunning each other to push the S&P over 1,900. Summing it all up perfectly - VIX closed at 15-month lows, Russell 2000 had its best week in 3 months, and Treasury yields are 13bps lower than when the S&P was last here... un-rigged.

Below, for the third year running, we present the 50 most shorted (and most convex) Russell 2000 names, which are sufficiently small and illiquid, that even the tiniest rumor or upgrade by a contrarian research shop is able to send into a short covering frenzy. They are sorted by short interest as a % of the float in declining order, which means that the absolutely most hated stocks are at the top.

There is no edge.

For the 4th day in a row, selling pressure in US equities climaxed as Europe closed. The big buying-panic today though was sparked with about an hour to go as VIX was pummeled lower and stocks levitated to save all kinds of key technical levels - (S&P unch, Nasdaq green on the week, S&P back above its 50DMA, Russell off its 7-month lows). Trouble with all that exuberance... bonds, the USD, commodities, JPY carry, and credit weren't buying it. The USD rose 0.2% for the 2nd week in a row (led by 0.5% weakness in the EUR) and JPY strengthened. Commodities all closed higher on the week, led by oil and copper (+2%) with WTI over $102. Treasuries sold off modestly into the late-day buying scramble in stocks but ended the week 10bps lower in yield (biggest weekly drop in 2mo, lowest in 6mo). VIX plunged back to almost 12 with its biggest daily drop in a month. T-Bonds and Bullion are both +7.2% YTD, S&P +1.6% YTD, Russell 2000 -5%YTD.

As the Dow tumbles back into the red for 2014 and the Russell firmly into correction territory, all eyes are focused on the 'rotational support' for the S&P 500... and it appears to be faltering quickly. As BofA notes, a break below the S&P's 50-day moving average is key... and we just did. What is just as worrisome is the break of the all-supportive USDJPY one-year-trend to 2-month lows..

Forget what you may think about stocks, for good or for bad.  This is a trader’s market. By that, Nick Colas notes, we are in a condition where very specific old-school rules govern price action. No, none of these aphorisms will ever win a Pulitzer, but in a world where near-term sentiment clearly rules the roost these rules clearly matter.  After all, "The bank doesn't ask how smart you are when they cash your bonus check."

It would seem that the day after Tuesday is not Tuesday... and so stocks sold off. The Russell 2000 is now 3% off its Monday highs, comfortably red for the week, and back below its crucial 200day moving-average. The Nasdaq is also down with the 50DMA crossing death-like below the 100DMA. Of course, it is the "you can't trust the signals" bond market that is making the real headlines as 10Y yields slump to fresh 7-month lows breaking notable support. The USD leaked lower on the day (but USDJPY was stable under 102) as ECB talked back some of the recent EUR losses. Commodities all pushed higher with silver up over 3% onthe week, gold back over $1305, and WTI over $102. VIX pumped-and-dumped at the open but could not sustain weakness as 330RAMP saw VIX's slam unable to drag stocks notably higher.

As Europe closes with a record high DAX and a 15 year high for the FTSE-100, it seems the weakness implied by USDJPY and bonds has caught up (or down) to US equities. After bagging the 1,900 level, the S&P 500 is now down on the day and while Trannies hold green, the Russell 2000 is getting slammed (-0.8%)... but it's Tuesday!!!

The Russell 2000 had its best day in over 17 months today - up 2.5% (best since Jan 2nd 2013) and +4% from Friday's lows. All US equity markets exploded higher our of the gate thanks to a ridiculous spike lower in VIX (below 12) and USDJPY stop-run back through 102 which squeezed "most shorted" dramatically higher. The Dow, Trannies, and S&P all made new record high closes...and it's not even Tuesday yet! Away from stocks, silver jumped over 2% for almost its best day in 3 months. Gold rebounded over $25 from overnight smackdown lows. Oil broke back above $100. Treasury yields rose modestly (2-3bps) - majorly out of sync with equity exuberance. JPY was large and in charge of stocks but the USD ended the day unchanged. S&P futures volume was 30% below recent average.

"Good" economic news and "stronger than expected" earnings reports have apparently buoyed the market against the drain of liquidity from the Federal Reserve. Today, the market ripped higher at the open as hopes of a "QE" program from the ECB rippled through the markets. Despite commentary from the mainstream media that the markets are doing great, the updated chart below shows the markets continuing its tug-o-war between support and resistance. This is an important point to remember. While it is certainly possible that the markets could ratchet higher from here due to the "psychological momentum" that currently exists, the likelihood of a runaway bull market from here is remote.