No. of Recommendations: 9
fyi, The CNN Fear and Greed Index ended on Extreme Fear today, although it hit Extreme Fear intraday during the week. Usually, Extreme Fear and Extreme Greed coincide with seasonal lows and highs (Fear during spring and fall, Greed during summer), but this is the first time in years I've seen it at Extreme Fear outside of a "low" season. Anecdotally, within a few days or a weeks of Extreme Fear during a "low" season, the market reaches its low, meaning that the index is a leading indicator. However, if you click Timeline on the CNN page, today's Extreme Fear is at 25, while the two recent lows in April 2026 and November 2025, both coinciding with the market low, were below 10.
Interestingly, I haven't found Extreme Greed to be that good of an indicator, although I start looking out for a red signal from Supertrend, as a lagging indicator. You can see for yourself the history of the CNN Fear and Greed Index on MacroMicro charts.
en.macromicro.me - Cnn fear and greedcnn.com - Fear and greed*****
Also interesting is that the AAII Sentiment Survey bullishness is at a high of 45%. Usually, the market's better to buy if its bearishness is at a high.
aaii.com: AAII Investor Sentiment Surveyen.macromicro.me - AAII Sentiment Survey vs S P*****
Bullish Percent Index is also semi-useful. For a comparison of the BPSPX on StockCharts.com, select Indicators: Price: SPY.
stockcharts.com: SharpCharts | StockCharts.com***********
For trading, I use the Volume Profile Indicator and look out for gaps. I'm lazy :D so will set a limit based on them and stop watching the price. For RMD's and IRA conversions, I'll look at Supertrend as a lagging indicator and look for a negative signal. It's not perfect, and you have to monitor it daily. For the SPY, the Supertrend signal appeared earlier this month, but the current price is lower than the signal.
Stock Analysis has been an easy way to filter for dividends. Cash Payout Ratio under 30% is my primary criteria, then I mess around with indicators until the screen pops out fewer than ten stocks. OZK is something of a bellweather stock that's been appearing for years.
Stock Analysis: Free Stock Screener - Search, Filter and Analyze StocksWe'll see how next week goes!
