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It’s Time to Buy Oil - Almost

By Jeff Clark
Wednesday, January 17, 2007

I’ll bet Norm would be buying oil stocks today.
 
In an old Cheers episode, the gang at the Boston bar goes in with Norm on an investment in a chain of tanning salons. It’s the beginning of winter, and Sam, Carla, Cliff, and all are eagerly anticipating windfall profits once the snow begins to fall.
 
But instead of snow, a heat wave sweeps through Boston.
 
There are no customers at the tanning salons, and the gang pressures Norm to buy them out of their investment. Norm insists that winter is coming, and if everyone would just hold out a little while longer, the profits will come too. The gang is not persuaded and Norm reluctantly buys back their shares.
 
And then it starts to snow.
 
Last week, oil stock investors acted like the gang at Cheers and dumped their shares at fire-sale prices.
 
This week, the California orange crop froze over. Ice storms swept through Oklahoma and Texas. And a big chill is moving in on the Northeast.
 
As it turns out, we may actually have a winter this year. So maybe it’s time to take another look at the oil stocks...
 
We’ve seen quite a slide in the oil patch, and the stocks are trading back down to the lows of last September. That’s when I first suggested it was time to jump into the sector... and it’s just about time to jump in again.
 
As you can tell from the following chart, the best time to buy oil stocks is when the Energy Sector Bullish Percent Index drops down to between 20 and 30... 
 
 
A “bullish percent index” (BPI) is a technical indicator that measures the overbought/oversold conditions in a given market. Overbought markets tend to break to the downside, and oversold markets tend to spring upwards. In the case of oil, the BPI is overbought at about 80 and oversold near 30.
 
Oil stocks are pretty oversold right now, and another few days of downside or sideways action will set up a good, low-risk buying opportunity.
 
We’re not there yet – but we’re close.
 
Cheers,
 
Jeff Clark




Market Notes
Another new highs list loaded with blue chips: Microsoft, Colgate-Palmolive, Procter & Gamble, Anheuser-Busch, DuPont, and Lehman Brothers.
 
Retail highs: Nordstrom, Ralph Lauren, Liz Claiborne, American Eagle, Guess?, and Aeropostale.
 
Earnings today: Apple and J.P. Morgan.
 
In The News: Citigroup says avoid India and China.
Market Watch
Symbol Price
Change
52-Wk
S&P 500 1221.53 +1.28% +10.12%
Oil 38.31 +1.43% -0.55%
Gold 138.07 +2.12% +16.32%
Silver 28.60 +2.40% +53.60%
US-Dollar 80.67 -0.81% +8.09%
Euro 1.32 +0.64% -12.10%
Volatility 18.01 -7.12% -19.81%
Gold Stocks 581.56 +3.02% +17.04%
10-Year Yield 3.02 +0.67% -10.65%

World ETFs
Symbol Price
Change
52-Wk
USA 122.89 +0.27% +11.33%
Canada 30.50 +0.20% +16.19%
Russia 21.94 +1.43% +18.08%
India 37.85 +0.32% +22.33%
Israel 16.69 +1.34% +10.75%
Japan 10.64 +0.57% +6.51%
Singapore 13.73 -1.08% +18.77%
Taiwan 14.78 +0.41% +19.19%
S. Korea 57.31 +1.33% +23.38%
S. Africa 71.87 +1.44% +28.20%
China 44.42 -1.42% -0.58%
Lat.America 53.17 +0.66% +8.38%

Sector ETFs
Symbol Price
Change
52-Wk
Oil Service 137.59 +1.04% +18.94%
Big Pharma 64.14 +0.02% -3.24%
Internet 72.07 -0.08% +23.41%
Semis 16.22 +1.19% +29.35%
Utilities 31.28 +0.22% +1.46%
Defense 18.52 +0.05% +10.57%
Nanotech 10.03 +0.40% +1.62%
Alt. Energy 10.08 +1.31% -3.26%
Water 18.49 +0.98% +14.49%
Insurance 16.14 +0.44% +21.08%
Biotech 20.54 -0.19% +28.13%
Retail 19.70 +0.25% +30.20%
Software 24.79 +0.81% +25.90%
Big Tech 53.87 +0.26% +22.74%
Construction 13.10 +0.85% +15.72%
Media 13.64 +0.52% +25.95%
Consumer Svcs 67.39 +0.19% +24.54%
Financials 55.04 +0.31% +7.44%
Health Care 64.30 +0.12% +2.01%
Industrials 63.54 +0.46% +21.03%
Basic Mat 74.35 +1.06% +25.27%
Real Estate 55.32 +0.14% +25.02%
Transportation 91.77 +0.66% +26.93%
Telecom 22.59 +0.49% +17.78%

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