Volatility & Chop continues
The Market: Volatility continues to be the name of the game which is why you can have a 40+ point day like today and still have the S&P 500 within a range/wedge. While it is possible that we extend today’s rally by gaping higher tomorrow, it is not our expectation and if we do open higher tomorrow we would watch the downward sloping 20 day SMA as resistance. Overall, a light Economic Calendar this week Thursday and Friday having the most significant data points (Unemployment Claims, PPI, and Consumer Sentiment). Reported EPS 9/8/15 After the Close: …
Fed gains quickly given back
Index & Sector performance 10/9/14 The Market: All the gains saw from yesterday’s Fed driven rally were taken back in today’s trading with the Dow (DIA) and S&P 500 (SPY) closing down nearly 2% while the Russell 2000 (IWM) lost 2.7%. The NASDAQ (QQQ) was helped by Apple (APPL) which managed to post a small gain of 0.22% on the session but the QQQ’s still finsihed 1.62% lower. Some big numbers put up across the sectors led by Energy (XLE) which finished down 3.67% and is now over 4% lower on the year. The XLE underperforming is not new but…
AAPL helps drive late day sell off
Index & Sector performance 9/9/14 The Market: All major indices on the WSC Scoreboard finished the session lower with the Russell 2000 (IWM) leading the charge down 1.18%. The S&P 500 (SPY) started the session weak but found a bottom in early trading and then managed to rally until 2pm ET when the index turned and sold off making new lows for the session. The NASDAQ (QQQ) held in well during early trading as traders were likely waiting for the Apple (AAPL) product announcement. The initial reaction to AAPL’s news (new/bigger phones, watch, payment system) was positive and the…
Lots of data yields flat finish
Index & Sector performance 7/30/14 The Market: Lots of Economic Data/announcements in today’s session but when the dust settled it was surprisingly a flat session with the NASDAQ (QQQ) and Russell 2000 (IWM) leading while the Dow (DIA) finished slightly lower and the S&P 500 (SPY) finished slightly higher. The leading sector on the WSC Scoreboard was Retail (XRT) finishing the day up 1% however Retail remains the only individual sector on the WSC Scoreboard that is down for the year. The laggard was the Utilities (XLU) and decisively so finishing the day down 1.69%. We remain interested in some…
Utilities big loser ahead of Jobs data
Index & Sector performance 7/2/14 The Market: The WSC Scoreboard was relatively flat to mixed with the Dow (DIA), S&P 500 (SPY), and NASDAQ (QQQ) closing slightly higher while the Russell 2000 (IWM) finished 0.35% lower. In individual sectors, the Utilities (XLU) stood out as the biggest loser finishing 1.99% lower on the day and appears vulnerable to even more downside action after being the leader so far in 2014. Every stock in the XLU finished down on the day with some finishing down over 3% including Exelon (EXC), FirstEnergy (FE), and Entergy (ETR) down 3.11%, 3.50%, and 3.25% respectively. …
Market recovers after weak GDP
Index & Sector performance 6/25/14 The Market: After a quiet overnight session, the S&P 500 futures spiked lower after the Government announced worse than expected GDP estimates for the first quarter of the year but, after the open, buyers stepped in and all four main indices from the WSC Scoreboard closed higher. In individual sectors HeathCare (XLV) and Transportation (IYT) outperformed closing up 1.06% and 0.99% respectively. The only sector closing lower on the WSC Scoreboard was Consumer Staples (XLP) finishing down 0.16%. The leader in the XLV was Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) finishing up 2.96% after announcing positive Phase III…
Window dressing or more to come?
Index & Sector performance 3/31/14 The Market: The Quarter ends with a nice up session which has some throwing around the term “window dressing”. While we do not necessarily disagree with the sentiment, we also believe price is the ultimate indicator and therefore today’s action has to be respected. Otherwise it is ultimately a continuation of the short term consolidation between the highs on the S&P 500 cash at $1883.97 and the 3/14/14 lows of $1839.57. In the very short term the futures appear to be flagging overnight and could look to next target the 1875ES region. Support is 1862ES…
S&P finds support at 20 day SMA
Index & Sector performance 3/12/14 The Market: Overnight trading took the S&P 500 futures index down to our target region of $1857-50 with the low of the session printing $1853.75ES right near the open which correlated with the S&P 500 cash index touching the 20 day SMA. From there we bounced and then spend the rest of the day consolidating in a flag which has broken to the upside in after hours but with not much gusto. Until the index clears the $1870-72.50ES area we will consider the potential for more downside. Tomorrow is the heaviest day of the week…
Strong sell off starts week
Index & Sector performance 2/3/14 The Market: In the News: The following noteworthy companies are scheduled to report earnings before tomorrow’s open: EMR, ETN, ADM, CME, SE, HCA, SIRI, IP, BDX, MHFI, DLPH, BSX, KORS, FIS, CLX, AMG, SEP Analyst Comments: The Game Plan:
Apple finally lands China
Index & Sector performance 12/23/13 The Market: The market was able to produce a gap higher to start this shortened trading week which will include a half day of trading Christmas eve and the market will be closed Wednesday December 25th in observance of Christmas. After the gap itself the S&P remained in a roughly 4-5 point trading range the entire day on light volume. There was a fair amount of economic data released today but nothing that really tipped the balances. Core PCE and Consumer spending came in right at expectations while Personal Income slightly missed (0.2% vs. 0.4%…