Many think that copper's behavior sends an important price message about the strength of the overall economy. It's important to watch Doc Copper as a proxy for how basic materials stocks perform.
Below looks at Basic Materials ETF (NYSE:XLB) over the past few years.
Ascending triangles are rewarding patterns to find in bull markets, as the pattern breaks to the upside two-thirds of the time. The pattern also helps with risk management as it helps one apply stops, should the pattern fail to break out, which it does one-third of the time.
Below looks at a different the iShares US Basic Materials ETF (NYSE:IYM).
Strenght in copper, XLB and IYM is often a good sign for the macro economy. If both of these continue higher, it could send a concerning message to bond hold holders. The global-growth story wants/needs to see both of these continuing to head higher.