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Strategies & Market Trends : MARKET INDEX TECHNICAL ANALYSIS - MITA -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: robert b furman who wrote (14635)	9/21/2002 6:19:57 PM
From: Killswitch	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 19219

I think he gets the data from Barrons

To: robert b furman who wrote (14635)	9/22/2002 10:38:03 PM
From: sentimentrader	Respond to of 19219

I haven't seen his posts or charts, but I follow the Specialist Short Ratio, which is taken from the NYSE Members Report in Barrons. I suggest you don't read too much into this week's numbers, as the readings for the Public vs. the Members looks switched. In any event, IF the numbers are correct, the Specialist Short Ratio stands at 36%, meaning that specialists on the NYSE account for only 36% of the short sales made during the reporting period (the data is released with a two-week delay). Historically (since 1943), this is very low and very bullish. However, over the past 20 years, short-selling strategies and the ease of short selling itself have caused a secular downtrend in the Specialist Short Ratio, to the point where the median value is now 40%. Since one standard deviation is now 5%, a reading below 35% or above 45% could be considered unusual and somewhat significant. This week's reading, again IF it is correct, is on the bullish end of neutral (or the neutral end of bullish!). Here's a chart of the SSR and the Public/Specialist short ratio, which is just the public short sales divided by the sepcialist short sales. Historically, the public rarely shorted more than the specialists, but it's becoming more and more common. sentimentrader.com