Thursday, June 21, 2007

It's as if we are following a script

Since the SPX fell thru it's trendline on May 24th, then crawled up the underside of said trendline, then sold off to solid support @ 1490, rose almost 50 points (nice trade!) to what could be anticipated to be stiff resistance @ 1540, and finally stabilized (temporarily?) today by holding on to it's support @ 1510 - you couldn't have scripted this any more logically. And that is what anyone long this market has got to be worried about - the market doesn't follow scripts well.
Tomorrow, Friday has the potential of telling us a lot about the next few weeks/months in this market. I expect we will see some momentum be established one way or the other. Will the bond traders impose their will on the equities markets or the other way around? One or both of 2 things will start what could be a sizable correction - the 10 year taking out 5.25% with authority and/or crude taking out $70/barrel with authority. Otherwise, we probably drift sideways for 3 weeks until Q2 earnings get rolling.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

We are pivoting on the 50 day moving average.


The S&P is using the 50 day as support - many institutional traders mark the 50 period as a line in the sand. If we get a significant close below, I think there could be a rush to trim back positions.
That being said, just don't get a sense that this is going to much of a pullback - certainly not the BIG ONE, the 10%er that US markets haven't seen in a dog's age.
Nor do I foresee many investors jumping into bonds - that would be like standing in front of a moving freight train at this time. You don't look to buy bonds until interest rates have nearly peaked. Bonds purchased today will just lose money till then.
So perhaps it is nearly time to pull out the old fibonacci generators. A quick calc puts a 61.8% pullback of the move since early March at about 6.5% overall. Let's call it the "Pause that refreshes".
If you aren't hedging, I don't think you can succeed long term in this market. That is to say, if you aren't buying puts (hopefully with the money you made selling calls) or selling futures (the e-mini is a fabulous vehicle), I think the pros are going to eat your lunch, and maybe your breakfast & dinner too!

Monday, June 11, 2007

A Retest is inevitable

The S&P is stalled in the congestion area around 1510. Look for a retest of the recent lows @ 1495. Seems a sure bet that no serious buying can occur unless and until we have bounced from there. Lots of key economic data this week as well as the brokers reporting - this market seems poised to head lower and any excuse will do. Muted earnings outlooks by GS, LEH, BSC (i.e. a slowdown in M&A activity) could be such a catalyst. For now, we are short-term oversold on the index and still bouncing up. Expect some buying that could get us up to 1525 or thereabouts and then Whammo! - bears move in for the kill.