US housing starts declined by 0.3% in October, which is stronger than the 0.7% decline that is average for the month. Real Time Economic Calendar provided by Investing.com. *** Stocks highlighted are for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice to purchase or to sell mentioned securities. As always, the use of technical and fundamental analysis is encouraged in order to fine tune entry and exit points to average seasonal trends. Stocks Entering Period of Seasonal Strength Today: Subscribers – Click on the relevant link to view the full profile. Not a subscriber? Signup here. McDermott Intl, Inc. (NYSE:MDR) Seasonal Chart Continental Gold Ltd. (TSE:CNL.TO) Seasonal Chart Teck Resources Ltd. (TSE:TECK/B.TO) Seasonal Chart National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE:NOV) Seasonal Chart Major Drilling Group Intl, Inc. (TSE:MDI.TO) Seasonal Chart United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE:URI) Seasonal Chart Taseko Mines Ltd. (TSE:TKO.TO) Seasonal Chart First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (TSE:FM.TO) Seasonal Chart Arconic, Inc. (NYSE:ARNC) Seasonal Chart Moody’s Corp. (NYSE:MCO) Seasonal Chart Esco Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ESE) Seasonal Chart Olympic Steel, Inc. (NASD:ZEUS) Seasonal Chart Wyndham Destinations, Inc. (NYSE:WYND) Seasonal Chart Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASD:AMD) Seasonal Chart Methanex Corp. (TSE:MX.TO) Seasonal Chart Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASD:STLD) Seasonal Chart The Markets Stocks were mixed on Tuesday as weakness in the energy and discretionary sectors dragged on broad market benchmarks. The S&P 500 Index shed a mere six basis points, effectively giving back the gain recorded in the prior session. The consumer discretionary ETF (XLY) shed 1.10%, turning lower from declining trendline resistance around $124. The sector has sharply underperformed the market over the past month, giving back all of this year’s outperformance that had been achieved by the middle of the year. Strength in the consumer had made this a must hold sector, in part the result of the low cost of borrowing that provided a tailwind to spending. But as the cost of borrowing started to rebound, investor desire to hold sector constituents waned. Seasonally, the sector typically performs well in the period leading up to the end of year shopping season. On the economic front, a report on housing starts in the US was released before the opening bell. The headline print of October’s report indicated that activity increased by 3.8% last month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.314 million. Analysts were expecting an increase of 4.3% to a rate of 1.32 million. Stripping out the adjustments, starts actually declined by 0.3% in October, which is stronger than the 0.7% decline that is average for this time of year. The result places the year-to-date change 18.9% above the seasonal average trend, which remains the best pace since 2012. We sent out further insight to subscribers intraday. Not on the distribution list yet? Signup now by choosing either a monthly or yearly subscription option via the following link: https://charts.equityclock.com/subscribe Also released on Tuesday was a special report to subscribers detailing the seasonal tendencies of the broad equity market over the next couple of weeks. Subscribe now and we’ll send it to you. Sentiment on Tuesday, as gauged by the put-call ratio, ended bearish at 1.08. Following a number of weeks with the sentiment gauge leaning in complacent territory, Tuesday’s bearish read is a welcome result, suggesting that investors may be buying portfolio insurance around the all-time highs in US equity benchmarks. Complacency can make stocks vulnerable, particularly if a shock event forces an abrupt unwind of the consensus bullish bet. Sectors and Industries entering their period of seasonal strength: Seasonal charts of companies reporting earnings today: S&P 500 Index TSE Composite