Headline News: Wall Street is set for a flat open as investors await the Federal Reserve monetary policy decision later today. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. today, and he is expected to announce an acceleration of the tapering of its bond-buying program. Meanwhile, U.S. retail sales increased less than expected in November, rising only 0.3%, which was the fourth month in a row of gains. Markets: The S&P traded in a wide range on Tuesday and tested both support and resistance before closing lower at 4634.09. The trading actions show indecision by traders looking for a catalyst to move the index in either direction. We feel the index needs to move back into the recent 4652.94-4702.87 trading range soon, and if not, the support at 4659.17 could be tested again. We are currently Intermediate-term bullish and short-term bullish. John N. Lilly III CPFA Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor℠ Accredited Asset Management Specialist℠ Portfolio Manager, RJFS Partner, DJWMG Windsor Wealth Planners & Strategist Futures trading is speculative, leveraged, and involves substantial risks. Investing always involves risk, including the loss of principal, and futures trading could present additional risk based on underlying commodities investments. … Read More
Headline News: Wall Street is set for lower open after new inflation data showed a rise in producer prices. Wholesale prices increased at the fastest pace ever in November, with the producer price index rising 9.6% year over year. Excluding food and energy, the core PPI increased 6.9% year over year. Investors appear to be concerned that the Federal Reserve will have to respond aggressively to the recent inflation reports. The Fed starts a two-day meeting today and will announce any changes in policy on Wednesday. Markets: The S&P 500 sold off on Monday, closing at 4668.97 and in the middle of the current trading range. The selling came with an increase in volume, with 2,391,258,880 shares traded. The selling looks set to continue this morning, and the index is set to open below current potential support at 4652.94. The next possible support levels would then become 4630.86 and then 4569.17. We are currently Intermediate-term bullish and short-term bullish. John N. Lilly III CPFA Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor℠ Accredited Asset Management Specialist℠ Portfolio Manager, RJFS Partner, DJWMG Windsor Wealth Planners & Strategist Futures trading is speculative, leveraged, and involves substantial risks. Investing always involves risk, including the loss of… Read More
Headline News: Wall Street is set for a higher open despite inflation rising at the fastest pace since 1982. The Labor Department’s CPI report rose 0.8% for the month and 6.8% year over year. Food and energy prices, core CPI, were up 0.5% for the month and 4.9% year over year. Investors appear to feel the report will ease the pressure on the Federal Reserve to move ahead with its higher pace of tightening of monetary policy. Later today, the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment report will be released, a potential market mover. Markets: The S&P 500 closed lower at 4667.45 and is now in the middle of a trading range at 4652.94-4702.87. We feel the index could trade in this range for a few days. However, today’s CPI report could have a negative effect on the index unless a higher inflation number was already priced into markets. So far this morning, the S&P 500 futures are higher by 37 points which could see the index test the upper end of the trading range. So, if the rally can hold for the first half an hour, we feel there could be a potential breakout above 4702.87 today. We are currently… Read More
Headline News: Wall Street is set for a lower open as investors appear to be on hold until tomorrow’s release of the U.S. inflation report. The Federal Reserve may announce a faster taper plan next week based on the results of the November CPI report due out on Friday. Also, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level in more than 52 years last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 43,000 to a seasonally adjusted 184,000 for the week ended December 4th. Markets: On Wednesday, the S&P 500 closed at 4701.21, just below the current resistance at 4702.87. The index has closed higher for three days in a row, so today should see some selling come into the markets. Also, the volatility index (VIX) moved below its 20 – day moving average, which is another good sign the recent sell-off is probably over for now. We are currently Intermediate-term bullish and short-term bullish. John N. Lilly III CPFA Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor℠ Accredited Asset Management Specialist℠ Portfolio Manager, RJFS Partner, DJWMG Windsor Wealth Planners & Strategist Futures trading is speculative, leveraged, and involves substantial risks. Investing always involves… Read More
Headline News: U.S. stock futures were higher after drugmakers Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) announced that a three-shot course of their COVID-19 vaccine was shown to have a neutralizing effect against the omicron variant. A booster shot was reported to increase antibody protection 25- fold compared to the initial two-dose series. Travel stocks continued to rally, with Norwegian Cruise (NCLH) higher by 2.6% and Delta Air Lines (DAL) higher by 2.4%. Markets: On Tuesday, the S&P 500 quickly moved past resistance 4652.94 and closed higher at 4688.75. The trading came with up volume accounting for 85% of all shares traded, and that was the second 80% or higher up day in a row. Also, the RSI closed above the 50 level in support of the two-day rally. We are moving back to a short-term bullish stance and are encouraged that a new uptrend is potentially in place. Possible resistance could now come in at 4702.87, and potential support could be at 4652.94. We are currently Intermediate-term bullish and short-term bullish. John N. Lilly III CPFA Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor℠ Accredited Asset Management Specialist℠ Portfolio Manager, RJFS Partner, DJWMG Windsor Wealth Planners & Strategist Futures trading is speculative, leveraged, and involves… Read More
Headline News: U.S. stock futures are set to open 1% higher as concerns over the Omicron variant appear to be easing. Big tech stocks Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and Apple (AAPL) were all higher by 2% in pre-market trading. Travel stocks were trading higher this morning, hoping the U.S. economy would not be shut down due to the new variant. Markets: The S&P 500 tested support at the 50-day moving average, 4547.46, and also tested resistance at 4598.53 before closing at 4591.67 on Monday. We would still like to see a close above the current resistance, 4598.53, soon potentially ending the recent downtrend. So far this morning, the index is trading at 4652.25 in pre-market trading, just under the potential resistance at 4652.94. A close higher at those levels would potentially move us back to short-term bullish. We are currently Intermediate-term bullish and short-term bearish. John N. Lilly III CPFA Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor℠ Accredited Asset Management Specialist℠ Portfolio Manager, RJFS Partner, DJWMG Windsor Wealth Planners & Strategist Futures trading is speculative, leveraged, and involves substantial risks. Investing always involves risk, including the loss of principal, and futures trading could present additional risk based on underlying… Read More
Headline News: Wall Street is set for a higher open as investors appear to be looking past the threat of the omicron variant’s effect on the U.S. economy. Equities tied to the economic reopening were higher and large technology equities were lower in pre-market trading. Meanwhile, comments by Fed officials suggested that the central bank could be set to raise rates sooner than currently expected. Markets: The S&P 500 traded in a wide range on Friday while testing resistance and briefly breaking through the support level at 4504.73. The volatility index (VIX) remained high, showing there is still a large amount of fear in the U.S. equity markets. So, wide range days could continue to be the norm until the uncertainty about the new COVID-19 variant and the pace of economic growth. A close above possible resistance at 4598.53 would be a positive and could bring in some buyers, but caution is still warranted until then. We are currently Intermediate-term bullish and short-term bearish. John N. Lilly III CPFA Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor℠ Accredited Asset Management Specialist℠ Portfolio Manager, RJFS Partner, DJWMG Windsor Wealth Planners & Strategist Futures trading is speculative, leveraged, and involves substantial risks. Investing always involves risk,… Read More
Headline News: Wall Street is set for a higher open despite the fact that the November jobs report coming in lower than expected. The Nonfarm payrolls for November increased by only 210,000 compared to the estimate of 573,000, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.2% compared to forecasts of 4.5%. Meanwhile, the omicron variant has now been detected in five U.S. states, but investors seem encouraged that symptoms have been mild so far. Markets: The S&P 500 rallied on Thursday, closing higher at 4577.10 on volume of 2,790,614,272. The index moved past the resistance at the 50-day moving average, tested the 4598.53 resistance level, and failed. The volatility index moved off the recent high but is still at oversold levels. So, we feel the S&P 500 can close higher today and possibly halt the recent selloff if there is a close above 4598.53. If selling should come in today, we feel the potential support at the 50-day moving average at 4542.95 will hold. We are currently Intermediate-term bullish and short-term bearish. John N. Lilly III CPFA Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor℠ Accredited Asset Management Specialist℠ Portfolio Manager, RJFS Partner, DJWMG Windsor Wealth Planners & Strategist Futures trading is speculative, leveraged, and… Read More
Headline News: U.S. stock futures are higher in early trading despite the first reported case of Omicron in the United States. Entertainment and leisure stocks were higher in the pre-market, with Boeing (BA), Royal Caribbean (RCL), and MGM Resorts (MGM) all higher by 2%. Meanwhile, Fed Chari Jerome Powell told Congress on Wednesday that the “economy is very strong and inflation pressure are higher. It is therefore appropriate in my view to consider wrapping up the taper of our asset purchases, which we announced at the November meeting, perhaps a few months sooner.” Markets: The S&P 500 moved below the 50-day moving average and closed lower at 4513.04 with volume of 3,044,670,208. The vast two-day increase in volume shows investors are now very concerned and want to hold safer investments. Also, the volatility index moved higher and is now near the 1/25/21 high of 37.51. The move below the 50-day average was surprising and has driven us to a short-term bearish stance for now. The next potential support level could not come in at 4465.40. We are currently Intermediate-term bullish and short-term bearish. John N. Lilly III CPFA Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor℠ Accredited Asset Management Specialist℠ Portfolio Manager, RJFS… Read More
Headline News: U.S. stock futures are much higher to start the day after the Private payrolls report came out better than expected. The ADP National Employment Report increased by 534,000 jobs last month, and the October report was revised higher by 1,000. Yesterday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified before Congress and stated that inflation should not be considered ” transitory” in the future. That has investors eagerly awaiting the Beige Book report on current economic conditions due out today at 2:00 p.m ET. Markets: The S&P 500 sold off again on Tuesday, closing lower at 4567.00 on massive volume of 4,056,184,320. The index is now just above potential support at 4551.60, but the pre-market open is indicated to be at 4624.50, well above possible resistance at 4585.43. We feel these wide-range trading days will continue until there is some certainty on the Omicron variant’s impact on the U.S. economy. The volatility index also moved higher and is near the level where buying typically comes into markets. We believe any selling can be a potential buying opportunity. We are currently Intermediate-term bullish and short-term bullish. John N. Lilly III CPFA Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor℠ Accredited Asset Management Specialist℠… Read More
