Author: Paul Kornfeld

With the chip sector under pressure lately, semiconductor equipment companies such as KLA Corp. have also been sliding. KLAC’s relative strength has been weakening since it peaked near the top of the green zone in the SIA S&P 500 Index Report back in August. Its descent down the rankings has accelerated and yesterday it returned to the Red Unfavored Zone for the first time since May. KLAC currently sits in 255th position, down 81 spots on the day and down 168 places in the last month.

With treasury yields on the rise lately, interest sensitive stocks like electric and natural gas utility Duke Energy (DUK) have come under pressure. An upward trend for DUK within the SIA S&P 100 Index Report that saw the shares climb from the red zone in February, to the green zone in May, recently came to an end with the shares completing a round trip and returning to the Red Unfavored Zone. Yesterday, DUK finished in 57th place, down 27 positions in the last month.

Yamana Gold (YRI.TO) spent the summer drifting downward within the SIA S&P/TSX Composite Index Report, sliding from the Green Zone in May down into the red zone where it languished from July to September. In the last few days, the shares have soared back up the relative strength rankings and have returned to the Green Favored Zone this week. Yamana finished yesterday in 34th place, up 17 spots on the day and up 135 positions in the last month.

Bouncing back from a summer dip down into the red zone, Suncor Energy (SU.TO) has been rising back up the rankings in the SIA S&P/TSX 60 Index Report recently. Suncor has now returned to the Green Favored Zone for the first time since July after climbing 5 spots yesterday to 14th place.

California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PCG) returned to the SIA S&P 500 Index from a long absence last week in the Green Favored Zone. Yesterday it jumped 15 positions to 17th place.

Gold producers have started to attract renewed interest recently, including Alamos Gold (AGI.TO). Alamos’ shares have shot up from the red zone of the SIA S&P/TSX Composite Index Report to the Green Favored Zone in the last week, returning to the Green Zone for the first time in over two years. Yesterday, AGI.TO finished in 39th place, up 17 spots on the day and up 105 positions in the last month.

In an example of how markets go up like an escalator and down like an elevator, auto parts producer Linamar Corp. (LNR.TO) has completed a round trip within the SIA S&P/TSX Composite Index Report. Linamar left the Red Zone back in June and steadily climbed up the rankings over the summer, briefly returning to the green zone last week before plunging back down the rankings and returning to the Red Unfavored Zone on Friday. Linamar is currently in 120th place, down 42 positions in the last month.

Back in the spring, ATS Automation Tooling Systems (ATA.TO) soared up the rankings in the SIA S&P/TSX Composite Index Report, but over the last six weeks, it has been steadily weakening once again. Yesterday, ATA.TO dropped out of the green zone and back into the Yellow Neutral Zone for the first time since June. It finished the day in 62nd position, down 8 spots on the day and down 32 places in the last month.