March 19, 2024

The NightCap

The Market: We expected to see a tight trading range until the FOMC statement but instead we saw buyers in advance of the statement as the S&P 500 (SPY) pressed higher.  The the announcement came and there was a sharp sell-off but buyers came right back and all 4 major market indices on the WSC Scoreboard finished above the pre-FOMC announcement highs. As was expected by many, the FOMC left the Fed Fund Rates unchanged but, based on the comments, it appears a rate hike is on the table for December if the data warrants.  We also saw the committee…

Markets finish up but look vulnerable

The Market: While it was not our expectation, we noted in Tuesday’s NightCap that, if the market extended higher, we would expect the downward sloping 20 day SMA to act as resistance.  If you look at the SPY, this is exactly where the market stopped in early trading on Wednesday and then proceeded to pullback sharply.  While all the major indices on the WSC Scoreboard finished higher in today’s trading, the market looks vulnerable to more downside in the coming days-weeks. Leading sectors in today’s trading was Transportation (IYT), Technology (XLK), and HealthCare (XLV) while the Utilities (XLU) and Retail…

Early dip is bought, finishes flat

The Market: Overall a quiet day in the markets following yesterday’s FOMC statement as an early dip in the S&P 500 found buyers and the index finished flat on the session while the NASDAQ (QQQ) led. The S&P 500 looks to need at least a short term pullback to regroup before any longer term move higher but we will be interested to watch that first pullback as we are from from believing the coast is all clear and that the market is off to new highs. In individual sections, Utilities (XLU) led finishing up 0.74% on the session followed by…

Strong start to the week led by Tech

The Market:     Reporting EPS 7/14/15 Pre-Market:   Reporting EPS 7/14/15 After the Close:   Analyst Comments:

Dollar ralley continues as Market slides

Index & Sector performance 3/10/15 The Market: A strong down session across the board with no index or sector spared.  We noted yesterday that the action to the upside appeared to not have conviction and today the lack of buying turned into selling.  Traders pointed to concerns over the eventual rate hike from the Fed and the strength in the Dollar as reasons for concern. We expect to see some form of a bounce as we have started to see positive divergence set-up on the shorter term intraday charts of the S&P 500 (SPY) and NASDAQ (QQQ) but any moves…

XLU stands out in today’s action

Index & Sector performance 2/18/15 The Market: A choppy session overall which ended up finishing flat.  Some negative divergence is building on the S&P 500 60 minute chart but, even when it leads to a pullback, the divergence can exist for many day.  We wouldn’t be surprised to see the index continue to meander and drift higher for the remainder of the week into Options expiration. In individual sectors it was the Utilities (XLU) leading the way and by a wide margin finishing up 2.37%.  We would be watching the XLU closely here to see if it can build on…

Early dip finds interested buyers

Index & Sector performance 7/28/14 The Market: Early moves lower in the broad market indices soon found buyers and managed to finish the day near flat on the session with the Russell 2000 (IWM) continuing to lag.  The DOW (DIA) played MA pinball with the lows in the early session touching the 50 day EMA while the highs of the session back tested the 20 day EMA. The stand out sector from the WSC Scoreboard was the Utilities (XLU) finishing up X% higher on the session.  Every name in the sector ETF was higher and that vast majority were up…

Russell clear winner in mixed start to week

Index & Sector performance 6/9/14 The Market: All 4 major indices on the WSC Scoreboard started the week moving higher picking up where they left off last week including the small cap Russell 2000 which continued its recent outperformance.  The quick start soon came to an end when each index made a top around noon ET which was never again revisited in today’s trading.  While the Russell 2000 managed to finish respectfully higher for the day, the rest of the indices were flat to slightly down. We noted in Friday’s  report last week that the S&P 500 closed outside of…

A day of rest after 4 up

Index & Sector performance 2/12/14 The Market: This morning at StockTwits we noted that after four solid days higher traders should expect a consolidation day which is ultimately what ended up happening but not before the S&P rallied to the pivot at $1823.25ES.  Traders should watch that level now as upside resistance and look to 1805-10 as support.     The following noteworthy companies are scheduled to report earnings before tomorrow’s open: PEP, APA, DISCA, NLSN, HOT, TAP, BKW, AVP, NGLS, CAB, GNC, SON, AFSI, OWW   Analyst Comments:         The Game Plan:

Market starts on Tryptophan

Index & Sector performance 12/2/13 The Market: Overall not a very active day in this first full trading session after the Thanksgiving holiday and to start December.      Today’s action started with an early dip that was quickly bought and started to rally higher until 12:30 pm EST.  That is where the rally lost steam and started a descent back down toward the earlier lows.  The market reached and went through those lows finally closing at $1800 in the S&P 500.  It is unclear if this slow start to the month is about to start a slide or if it is…