Headline News: U.S. stock futures are higher after a better than expected weekly jobless claims report was released. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 473,000 compared to 507,000 the prior week. The report shows employers were able to retain employees during the growing labor shortage. There are 8.1 million job openings and nearly 10 million people officially unemployed in the U.S. Meanwhile, the Producer’s price index for final demand rose 0.6%, which was another sign inflation is creeping into the U.S. economy. Markets: The S&P 500 moved below support at 4128.59, and then the more important level at 4068.31. The index closed at 4063.04, with volume coming in at 2,398,136,832. The RSI index moved below the 50 level, closing at 41.05 in support of the heavy selling. The index must now hold the critical 50-day moving average that is now at 4094.94. If that potential support is broken, the next possible support level could become 3983.87. However, the S&P 500 is now near the 38.2% retracement level that typically brings in some buyers. We are currently long-term bullish and short-term cautious. John N. Lilly III CPFA Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor℠ Accredited Asset Management Specialist℠ Portfolio Manager,… Read More
Headline News: Wall Street is set for another lower open after U.S. inflation grew at the fastest rate in 12 years. The Consumer Price index rose 4.2% year over year, and the monthly gain was 0.8%. Also, energy prices rose 25% year over year as the national average for gasoline hit $3 a gallon. However, inflation a year ago was at a historic low this time last year due to the U.S. economy being locked down. So, expectations for inflation by leading economist remains at 2% by the end of the year. Markets: The S&P 500 traded in a wide range and moved below two support levels on Tuesday. However, buying did come in, and the index rallied to close flat at 4152.10. There was a pick-up in volume with 2,429,803,776 shares traded, and RSI continued to dive lower, closing at 52.01. We are now moving to a short-term cautious stance due to the probability of more selling being high. Potential support remains at 4128.59 and then 4068.31, and we feel those levels might be tested soon. We are currently long-term bullish and short-term cautious. John N. Lilly III CPFA Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor℠ Accredited Asset Management Specialist℠ Portfolio Manager,… Read More
Markets: The S&P 500 is now testing potential support at 4128.59. You can see on the chart a small tail has formed, which shows some buying has come in at that level. However, if that level breaks, the next possible support level could then become 4068.31. So, caution is warranted today. We are currently long-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. The Relative Strength Index (RSI), developed by J. Welles Wilder, is a momentum oscillator that measures the speed and changes of price movements. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the U.S stock market. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Keep in mind that individuals cannot invest directly in any index, and index performance does not include transaction costs or other fees, which will affect actual investment performance. Individual investors’ results… Read More
Headline News: Wall Street is set for a significant drop at the open of today’s trading as the sell-off in large tech companies continues. Also, the tightening of gasoline supplies in parts of the U.S. has investors in a bearish mood. The Colonial pipeline is still shut down, which is causing a spike in gas prices in the Southeast. A possible rise in interest rates and inflation could halt economic growth is another fear weighing on markets and could affect trading today. The yield on the 10-year Treasury moved higher to 1.64%, adding to the inflation spike fears. Markets: The S&P 500 sold off last in the day after moving above resistance at 4218.78 and closed lower at 4188.43. The index is now just above potential support, and we feel there will now be more downside. There was a pick-up in volume with 2,313,680,128 shares traded, and RSI moved lower in support of the selling closing at 57.86. We feel that the potential support at 4128.59 will be tested and possibly broken today. A sell-off in major technology stocks along with the recent gas shortage has once again been proven to be a significant market disrupter. Also, the fact… Read More
Headline News: U.S. stock futures are higher to start the week as the S&P 500 looks set to open at another new all-time high. Growing optimism about interest rates remaining low for longer the expected has investors in a bullish mood. Meanwhile, Chevron Corp(CVX), Occidental Petroleum Corp(OXY), and Exxon Mobile(XOM) were all higher by 1% after the cyber attack on U.S. pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline. Markets: The S&P 500 broke out and closed at a new all-time high at 4232.60 on Friday. The trading did come with much lower volume, with only 2,044,819,368 shares traded. The RSI indicator closed higher at 66.28 in support of the breakout. The low volume is a concern, but that has not been a problem during the recent uptrend, and we feel there is a new uptrend now in place. Potential resistance could come in at 4238.04, and possible support is now at 4218.78. Also, today’s trading could be light due to the past two days being wide-ranging as the index consolidates the recent gains. We are currently long-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 &… Read More
Headline News: U.S. stock futures are lower after the April nonfarm payroll report came in lower than expected. The Labor Department said payrolls only increased by 266,000, much lower than the one million economists had predicted. The unemployment rate rose to 6.1%. Following the report’s release, the 10-year Treasury yield dropped by five basis points on the news. However, mega-cap tech stocks are higher in pre-market trading, and Facebook(FB), Amazon(AMZN), Netflix(NFLX), and Apple(AAPL) were all higher by 1%. Markets: The S&P 500 moved past two resistance levels and closed higher at 4201.62. The trading did have an increase in volume with 2,234,273,536 shares traded, and RSI made a big move higher, closing at 62.75. The index is now in a position to potentially attempt a test of the new possible resistance level at 4128.78. We feel a test today would be too far too fast, so we expect a low volume, low trading range day to end the weekend. If selling did come in, the first level of potential support is now at 4191.31 and then possibly the 4176.22 level. We are currently long-term bullish and short-term bullish. John N. Lilly III CPFA Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor℠ Accredited Asset Management… Read More
Headline News: Wall Street is set for a higher open after a better-than-expected report on last week’s jobless claims. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totaled 498,000 for the week ended May 1 compared to 590,000 the prior week. That was the lowest level since March of 2020, when mandatory shutdowns of nonessential business were enforced due to the COVID-19 virus. Markets: The S&P 500 did not close above the current resistance level at 4176.22 liked we had hoped on Wednesday. The index closed at 4167.59 on lower volume of 1,771,758,976 shares traded. The RSI did not move lower, closing at 58.30, which is a good sign the selling was not heavy. So, the index is at a crossroads and still needs to move above resistance soon to have a chance at another breakout. We are currently long-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. The Relative Strength… Read More
Headline News: U.S. stock futures are set for a higher open as investors appear to be buying the dips with megacap stocks. Apple(AAPL), Facebook(FB), and Alphabet Inc(GOOGL) were all higher in pre-market trading. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she sees no inflation problem brewing for the U.S economy. Investors will also be watching the private payroll data reported by ADP released later today, and the report is expected to show an addition of 800,000 new jobs in the month of April. Markets: The S&P 500 traded below the support line we were watching at 4176.22 and down close to the next support level at 4118.38. However, buying came in late in the day to rally the index back just below the old support. There was a big pick up in volume with 2,543,972,864 shares traded, but RSI moved lower, closing at 57.90. So, today’s close could be instructive on the future direction of the index. Another close below 4176.22 could mean more churning sideways at these levels, and a close above 4176.22 could have the index back on track for a potential new uptrend. The long tail formed after Tuesday’s trading is encouraging that the selling could be done… Read More
Headline News: U.S. stock futures are lower as investors continue to move out of mega-cap stocks with high valuations. The rotation appears to be into stocks that will benefit from the reopening of the U.S. economy. Also, the “pandemic winners” stocks appear to be falling out of favor, dragging markets lower to start the day. Markets: The S&P 500 tried and failed to break out of the current base, and selling that came in moved the index to the current support level. The trading came with lower volume with only 2,171,213,824 shares traded, and RSI was flat, closing at 63.32, which is a positive sign. Early morning trading shows the index test potential support at 4176.22. A break of this level would change our thoughts on a new uptrend starting soon and could potentially bring in more selling today. Possible resistance is now at 4192.66 and then at 4209.39. We are currently long-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… Read More
Headline News: Wall Street is set for a higher open after a good week of corporate earnings showed continued growth in S&P 500 companies. More than half of the 500 companies have reported, and the profits have risen 46%, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. So far, improving economic data, strong corporate earnings, fiscal stimulus, and a dovish Federal Reserve have moved the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record highs this year. Investors will continue to monitor economic reports that are due out later this week that could also show continued strong growth. Markets: The S&P 500 traded down to and held support at 4173.22, closing at 4181.17 on Friday. The index has now traded in a narrow range four out of the last five days, and we feel a breakout could potentially come this week. The trading came on good volume with 2,422,298,624 shares traded, and the RSI index did turn lower, closing at 61.96. So, a solid base has been built, and a break above possible resistance at 4191.31 should bring in new buyers. We are currently long-term bullish and short-term bullish. John N. Lilly III CPFA Accredited Portfolio Management Advisor℠ Accredited Asset Management Specialist℠ Portfolio Manager,… Read More
