While the world concentrated on the 'Greatest show on Earth' in August and watched the gold medals being awarded, there was a little excitement occurring in the stock market. There were no less than 30 IC/Coppock buy signals given over the month and they were split exactly 50:50 between markets and the FTSE All-Share sectors. All of our IC/Coppock Indicators have now turned positive, apart from the gold and gilt markets which, as a rule, move in a contrary motion to equities and the indicator for the UK government securities dutifully produced a sell signal in August.
The Dow Jones and the FTSE both rose in August but these markets were weakened at the start of September after Ben Bernanke, head of the US Federal Reserve, opted not to give any hints about further quantitative easing at the Jackson Hole Symposium, a gathering of US bankers in Wyoming. Despite this news the stock market indicators were still upbeat and investors brushed the problem aside. All eyes are now on China due to fresh concerns over an economic slowdown within that region as the purchasing managers' index dropped below 50, which separates contraction from expansion, for the first time since November 2011.
Summary table of IC/Coppock indicators - major markets worldwide:
| Index/market | August average index | August indicator* | July indicator* | June indicator* | Signal† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Government Securities | 175.55 | +56.3 | +58.9 | +56.9 | SELL |
| FT 30 | 2,030.93 | -44.7 | -66.2 | -69.0 | HOLD |
| FTSE 100 | 5,796.95 | -10.9 | -25.5 | -25.6 | HOLD |
| FTSE All-Share | 3,010.36 | -12.3 | -27.2 | -27.2 | BUY |
| FT Gold Mines | 2,827.36 | -109.5 | -+95.9 | -76.1 | WAIT |
| Amsterdam | 517.26 | -36.8 | -62.6 | -69.7 | HOLD |
| ASX All Ord | 4,342.70 | -47.1 | -59.4 | -61.2 | HOLD |
| S&P/ASX 200 Energy | 12,641.58 | -85.7 | -95.2 | -91.3 | BUY |
| Belgium SE | 8,705.41 | -15.3 | -41.4 | -58.8 | HOLD |
| Dax (Germany) | 6,949.78 | -25.9 | -53.1 | -53.1 | BUY |
| Dow Jones | 13,134.90 | +34.7 | +23.5 | +26.1 | BUY†† |
| Rep of Ireland (ISEQ) | 3,179.20 | +57.1 | +34.6 | +27.6 | HOLD |
| France CAC 40 | 3,427.40 | -75.1 | -100.3 | -102.7 | HOLD |
| Hang Seng | 19,946.19 | -64.5 | -78.1 | -80.5 | HOLD |
| Italy BCI | 799.57 | -124.4 | -145.1 | -144.9 | BUY |
| S. Africa Gold | 2,400.54 | -21.7 | -10.6 | +0.3 | WAIT |
| S. Africa Industrial | 34,898.24 | +100.5 | +78.3 | +67.7 | HOLD |
| Straits Times | 3,052.85 | -26.0 | -41.1 | -46.0 | HOLD |
| Tokyo New SE | 748.73 | -53.0 | -61.0 | -59.1 | BUY |
| Toronto Comp | 11,921.00 | -57.2 | -63.8 | -60.3 | BUY |
| Toronto Gold | 2,463.14 | -112.1 | -97.2 | -78.5 | WAIT |
| Sweden OMX | 1,068.73 | -23.8 | -47.8 | -53.2 | HOLD |
| FTSE techMARK 100 | 2,366.90 | +35.9 | +16.6 | +15.9 | HOLD |
| Nasdaq 100 | 2,739.13 | +76.3 | +60.3 | +61.4 | BUY†† |
| *Average index for August 2012. †IC/Coppock indicator. ††Unofficial signal. BUY/SELL = self explanatory; WAIT = you sold at the last sell signal and are now waiting for the next buy signal; HOLD = you bought at the last buy signal and are now awaiting the next sell signal. | |||||
For a list of the constituents of the FTSE All-Share sector indices click here
Summary table of IC/Coppock indicators - FTSE All-Share Sectors:
| Sector | August avg index | August indicator* | July indicator* | June indicator* | Signal† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mining | 17,381.29 | -131.6 | -139.4 | -127.9 | BUY |
| Oil & gas | 8,327.52 | -3.1 | -13.8 | -8.5 | BUY |
| Chemicals | 9,133.13 | +74.6 | +55.1 | +60.9 | BUY |
| Constr & building materials | 3,344.94 | -68.7 | -82.7 | -81.5 | BUY |
| Forestry & paper | 6,565.95 | -23.5 | -37.0 | -30.1 | BUY |
| Steel & other metals | 3,014.24 | -291.9 | -288.2 | -269.3 | WAIT |
| Aerospace & defence | 3,922.81 | +66.9 | +43.0 | +32.0 | HOLD |
| Diversified industrls | 2,563.65 | -3.7 | -25.7 | -29.6 | HOLD |
| Electronic & electrical equipment | 4,021.58 | +24.6 | +13.4 | +27.4 | BUY |
| Engineering & machinery | 7,553.45 | +20.5 | +13.2 | +30.9 | BUY |
| Automobiles & parts | 5,160.73 | -23.0 | -39.7 | -29.7 | BUY |
| Household goods textiles | 2,057.78 | -121.8 | -114.1 | -89.2 | WAIT |
| Beverages | 12,666.47 | +126.9 | +104.8 | +97.0 | HOLD |
| Food producers | 6,014.14 | +49.5 | +43.0 | +43.3 | BUY†† |
| Health | 3,798.17 | -15.2 | -37.2 | -41.4 | HOLD |
| Personal care | 17,682.11 | +7.6 | +15.4 | +44.8 | WAIT |
| Pharmaceuticals | 9,939.94 | +39.3 | +34.8 | +38.9 | BUY†† |
| Tobacco | 38,192.45 | +120.0 | +117.8 | +120.2 | BUY†† |
| General retailers | 1,740.52 | +7.2 | -16.4 | -20.7 | HOLD |
| Leisure & hotels | 4,672.09 | +2.6 | -25.3 | -35.5 | HOLD |
| Media entertainment | 4,602.65 | +16.7 | -7.6 | -12.3 | HOLD |
| Support services | 4,833.44 | +38.0 | +17.0 | +15.3 | HOLD |
| Transport | 2,914.48 | -47.0 | -59.3 | -56.7 | BUY |
| Food & drug retailers | 4,211.96 | -75.6 | -82.5 | -79.4 | BUY |
| Telecommns services | 2,603.63 | +39.7 | +19.7 | +14.4 | HOLD |
| Electricity | 8,284.93 | +25.1 | +27.5 | +37.0 | WAIT |
| Other utilities | 6,944.20 | +49.8 | +39.0 | +34.1 | HOLD |
| Banks | 3,631.37 | -88.4 | -113.9 | -122.5 | HOLD |
| Insurance | 1,780.42 | -41.5 | -60.8 | -64.1 | HOLD |
| Life assurance | 4,593.03 | -3.1 | -29.3 | -33.5 | HOLD |
| Investment companies | 5,847.79 | -30.7 | -39.5 | -36.8 | BUY |
| Other finance | 4,243.39 | -86.5 | -104.1 | -103.4 | BUY |
| IT hardware | 991.20 | +6.9 | -9.8 | +4.4 | BUY |
| Software & comp services | 977.78 | +78.2 | +54.0 | +47.4 | HOLD |
| *Average index for August 2012. †IC/Coppock indicator. ††Unofficial signal. BUY/SELL = self explanatory; WAIT = you sold at the last sell signal and are now waiting for the next buy signal; HOLD = you bought at the last buy signal and are now awaiting the next sell signal. | |||||
Summary table of IC/Coppock indicators – Emerging & other markets worldwide
| Market/index | August avg index | August indicator* | July indicator* | June indicator* | Signal† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 8,835.49 | -120.0 | -128.7 | -124.2 | BUY |
| FTSE Aim | 680.47 | -94.4 | -100.8 | -94.2 | BUY |
| Brazil | 58,209.29 | -31.4 | -50.7 | -53.2 | HOLD |
| China | 2,316.67 | -105.2 | -105.9 | -102.7 | BUY |
| Greece | 625.16 | -277.6 | -293.6 | -295.9 | HOLD |
| India | 5,317.66 | -37.9 | -52.9 | -56.7 | HOLD |
| Indonesia | 4,114.75 | +33.4 | +35.1 | +42.1 | WAIT |
| Israel | 988.52 | -62.8 | -76.2 | -76.8 | HOLD |
| Mexico | 12,052.93 | +1.5 | -11.7 | -18.8 | HOLD |
| Philippines | 5,229.47 | +108.0 | +103.4 | +99.0 | HOLD |
| Poland | 41,519.64 | -77.6 | -96.0 | -96.7 | HOLD |
| Portugal | 4,856.66 | -168.9 | -178.1 | -175.7 | BUY |
| Russia | 16,379.46 | -100.5 | -105.6 | -96.6 | BUY |
| South Korea | 1,918.91 | -35.7 | -45.0 | -35.2 | BUY |
| Spain | 726.59 | -148.8 | -158.5 | -150.4 | BUY |
| Switzerland | 6,465.14 | +4.0 | -25.7 | -37.6 | HOLD |
| Thailand | 1,222.26 | +57.9 | +50.9 | +48.2 | HOLD |
| Turkey | 65,302.17 | -16.5 | -47.7 | -60.7 | HOLD |
| Venezuela | 272,231.10 | +961.6 | +916.3 | +847.9 | HOLD |
| *Average index for August 2012. †IC/Coppock indicator. ††Unofficial signal. BUY/SELL = self-explanatory; WAIT = you sold at the last sell signal and are now waiting for the next buy signal; HOLD = you bought at the last buy signal and are now awaiting the next sell signal. | |||||
