Wall Street toasted the Federal Reserve’s QE3 decision Thursday with a 200-point rally in the Dow Jones Industrial Average as the blue-chip index rose to its highest level since 2008.
Bulls are hoping the upbeat sentiment can help the Dow Jones Transportation Average catch up to the broader market.
One tenet of the venerable Dow Theory is that industrial and transportation averages should both confirm new highs in a healthy bull market. [Will Transportation ETF Join the Party?]
The iShares Dow Jones Transportation Average (NYSEArca: IYT) was up 4% year to date as of Sept. 12, compared with a gain of 11.3% for the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEArca: DIA), according to Morningstar.
“The iShares DJ Transportation Average (IYT) has drifted sideways for much of 2012,” said Tarquin Coe, technical analyst at Investors Intelligence.
“IYT has underperformed badly this year, up 3% versus some 14% for the S&P 500, but that creates catch up potential, an assumption which is supported by the technical developments,” he said in a newsletter sent Wednesday. “Once the coiling nature of recent months breaks loose, there is likely to be an aggressive move as pent up energy is released. We expect that move to be up given the general uptrend since the 2009 bottom.”
The transportation ETF is facing a key resistance line.
A “positive message would be sent about the economy” if the Dow Jones Transportation Average can break to the upside, according to Kimble Charting Solutions.
iShares Dow Jones Transportation Average
