SENTIMENT & MARKET INDICATORS, 3/18/26
AAII Bull-Bear Spread -21.6% (very low)
CNN Fear & Greed Index 18 (extreme fear)
NYSE %Above 50-dMA 28.81% (oversold)
SP500 %Above 50-dMA 29.80% (oversold)
These are contrarian indicators.
INVESTOR CONCERNS: Geopolitical, Fed, dollar, debt, tariffs, inflation, jobs, Russia-Ukraine (211+ wks), Israel-Hamas (67+27 wks; fragile peace), US/Israel-Iran/Lebanon (18 days).
For the Survey wk (Th-Wed), stocks down, bonds down, oil up sharply, gold down, dollar up.
Strait of Hormuz remains closed for traffic except for a trickle; war is creeping into oil/gas infrastructure. Fed held rates at 3.50-3.75%. PPI (wholesale) +3.4%, core +3.9%. S&P & Nasdaq may change indexing rules to lure hot IPOs.
#AAII #CNN #Sentiment
https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/post/2489/thread MORE
As the Iran War creeps into oil/gas infrastructure, there is now a huge difference between WTI crude (US) and Brent (Europe). Other Middle Eastern crudes (various grades) are also affected.
Those familiar with oil history may remember that from 2000-2010, WTI traded at premium to brent, but has traded at discount since. It depends on supply and demand and which grade existing refineries can handle - and not on the looks of oil that varies from sweet (WTI) to sour (brent) to tar-y (Canadian).
https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts/ 
