GLD vs. GDX

The gold metal exchange traded fund, GLD, and its gold mining company counterpart, GDX, are showing strikingly different behavior on their charts.

sym	phase	trend	adx		200/50	40/10
GLD			28
GDX			24

GLD has performed a three-day, three-gap drop to below the 20-day Donchian price channel, but then gapped sharply back into neutral phase, where it remains.

GDX, by contrast, has shown a clearer downward course that continues today.

Gold is an interesting play, in my book, simply because there are many different ways to play it -- GLD for the metal, GDX for miners, GDXJ for the junior, more speculative miners, DGL for gold futures with some contracts as much as a year out.

Each one behaves a little bit differently from the others, making a chart comparison on all the possibilities a smart move for traders like me interested in tracking gold.

Key

• phase: 20-day price channel phase, with green for bull trend, red for bear trend and yellow for neutral trend.
• trend: Price direction, green for higher highs and higher lows, red for lower highs and lower lows, yellow for neither.
• adx: Average directional index location, indicating the strength, or the temperature, of the trend. Orange for 40 or greater, aqua (light blue) for 25 and up but below 40, magenta (light purple) for 20 and up but below 25, and brown for anything below 20. (Mnemonic: Orange for the overhead sun, blue for the surrounding sky, magenta for sunset on the horizon and brown for the earth.)
• 200/50: The moving average cross, green for the 50-day ma above the 200, red for below and yellow for closely aligned.
• 40/10: The moving average cross, green for the 10-day ma above the 40, red for below and yellow for closely aligned.

About my trading methods

Read a detailed explanation of my analysis method, including trading rules.

Disclaimer

Tim Bovee, Private Trader tracks the analysis and trades of a private trader for his own accounts. Nothing in this blog constitutes a recommendation to buy or sell stocks, options or any other financial instrument. The only purpose of this blog is to provide education and entertainment.

No trader is ever 100 percent successful in his or her trades. Trading in the stock and option markets is risky and uncertain. Each trader must make trading decision decisions for his or her own account, and take responsibility for the consequences.

The trader’s greatest sin is inaction. Sleeper, awake! Seize the Nietzchean moment. Roll out of bed and trade.