End of Day Analysis Archives - Page 31 of 56

Jan 06

Why January’s start is so bullish

Free After-Hours Analysis:

Quarters and years often adopt personalities. Some go up, others go down, maybe they are volatile, maybe they are calm. While this is obvious to everyone after it is all said and done, to trade successfully, we need to recognize these changes in personality earlier than everyone else. This means being hyper-aware of inflection points that signal this quarter is going to be different than last quarter.

The calendar rolled over to 2020 last week and we changed both quarters and years. This means we need to be especially sensitive to the market’s mood. That said, in the first few trading session of the year, it doesn’t look like anything changed. We got some potentially bearish news late last week, markets fell on the new and unexpected uncertainty, but like we saw all of last year, rather than trigger waves of additional selling, buyers quickly jumped on the discounts and propped up prices.

There are few things more bullish than a market that refuses to go down on bad news and that is exactly what we are seeing here. If this market was fragile and vulnerable, there have been more than enough negative headlines to send nervous owners scrambling for cover. Instead, we are getting the exact opposite. Not only are confident owners holding through this headline noise, they are jumping on every discount no matter how small. I wasn’t sure how January would start, but so far, it doesn’t look like anything changed. That means we stick with what worked so well last year.

This morning’s dip was an excellent buying opportunity after prices found a bottom minutes after the open. The nice thing about opens like this is they give us an excellent stop-loss level extremely close to our entry point. If prices bounce like they did, we let the profits roll in. If the early bounce fizzles and prices tumble lower, we get stopped out for a tiny loss and we wait for the next entry point.

If a person missed this morning’s buying opportunity, don’t fret, there is still a chance to get in, it just involves a little more risk since we are further above this morning’s stop-loss point. To account for the increased risk, we manage that by starting with a smaller position and then only adding more after the trade starts working.

I’m not totally convinced the rest of this quarter will be as strong as last quarter yet, but it is starting off well and that means there is only one way to trade it right now.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Dec 26

When it makes sense to buy AMZN

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis

Two weeks ago I wrote a cautious post about AMZN. I explained how I was leery of this stock’s latest rebound because the prior dip lacked a compelling capitulation point. And while this remains the case, that didn’t deter traders from piling into the stock today. The company reported record holiday sales and that sent the stock surging nearly 5%.

Clearly I missed today’s move and I have no problem admitting that. That’s the way this goes sometimes. Successful trading does not come from being right about everything all the time, it is based on finding the best setups and profiting from those exemplary opportunities. This often means passing on something that ends up working simply because the odds of success were lower than what we typically look for. I wasn’t bearish on AMZN, I just didn’t see the latest dip as compelling enough to be worth buying.

While today’s performance was impressive, I wouldn’t chase AMZN at these levels. Today’s gains could easily fizzle over the next few weeks if this demand proves fleeting. It takes more than one day to reverse a downtrend and as impressive as today looked, it was just a single day. I would like to see the stock hold this level for several weeks before concluding this rebound is the real deal.

There are a few reasons to be wary of today’s strength. First, it came during a holiday affected period. That means most institutional investors are on vacation and not participating in today’s buying. Second, if big money wasn’t buying, then demand was coming from retail investors and bears covering their shorts. This more impulsive based buying was evident in today’s one-way price action that started with smaller gains and rallied strongly all day long. That told us people were desperately chasing prices higher, not making intelligent and informed investment decisions.

Why this matters is because retail investors have shallow pockets and short-covering is a fleeting phenomenon. Until we see institutional investors support these prices by buying at these levels when they return in January, I would be leery of chasing today’s gains. That said, I could be wrong about AMZN again and prices could continue surging higher. But if I miss another move in AMZN, I don’t mind because trading opportunities with higher odds come along all the time.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM $AMZN

Dec 23

How to approach the market around the holidays

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Update:

As expected, the S&P 500 continues drifting higher into year-end. All of the nasty headlines are behind us and for the most part, things turned out far less bad than feared. This return of optimism allowed stocks to rally to record highs. That said, this post is less about the market and more about what we should be doing this time of the year.

All too often it is easy to obsess over the market, and many times that distracts us from the things that really matter. Borrowing a well-used cliche, we should trade to live, not live to trade. If all you can think about is how well your positions are doing, or sometimes how poorly, you are missing out on all of the things going on around you.

As we approach the Christmas holiday, it often makes a lot of sense to unplug for a few days. For some people, that means liquidating everything and being fully present with their friends and family. For other people, this simply means lightening up on some of your biggest winners to the point you no longer feel the need to watch the market’s every move. For longer viewed investors, skip a few days of financial headlines and don’t open your stock app. Don’t worry, everything will still be there next week.

The above recommendations are doubly important if things are not going well. Sometimes we get stuck and have a hard time letting go of a losing trade. Forcing yourself to sell that bad trade for a few days might just be the thing you need to clear your head and come back with a fresh set of eyes. If you still like that trade next week, you can always get back in. But more often than not, we would rather avoid putting ourselves in that situation again. If that’s the case, chalk it up to “experience” and start looking for another opportunity.

No matter what happens over the next two weeks, don’t worry about it. There will be plenty of new trading opportunities next month, and the month after that, and the month after that…

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Dec 20

What to do after breaking through 3,200

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis:

As expected, the S&P 500 finally pushed up to and then broke through 3,200 resistance. Today’s gains mark the seventh positive finish out of the last eight trading sessions. While the crowd is busy congratulating themselves for holding through this easy run, those of us that have been doing this a while are starting to get nervous.

Everyone knows the market move in waves, unfortunately, most people forget this simple idea when we are experiencing one. It doesn’t matter if it is on the way up or the way down, people naturally take the recent past and extrapolate that trend from now to forever. After the year we’ve had, why would anyone worry about stocks? Making money in this market is so easy! Or so the popular consensus goes.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not a bear or anything even close. The market is acting well and I will continue trading with the bullish trend until given a compelling reason to change my outlook. But I also know that if we are in this to make money, the only way we do that is by selling our favorite winners.

It’s been a nice run, but that also tells us it is time to start locking in some profits. A person can do that by either selling proactively into this strength or by following the market higher with a trailing stop. Both strategies work well and it is largely up to personal preference. Pick one and stick to it. Or better yet, do a little of both.

But the other thing to remember is as soon as we get out, we need to start looking for that next trade. Maybe this rally stalls at current levels and drifts sideways into next year. If that’s the case, we stay out and wait for a trade in January. Maybe stocks pause for a few days before continuing higher. Just because we got out doesn’t mean we cannot get back in when conditions warrant it. And maybe the bubble bursts in January and that turns out to be a great time to short the market. No matter what happens, by taking profits now, we will have the cash ready to jump on the next opportunity.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Dec 19

TSLA: Up or Down, or does it not matter?

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis:

TSLA has been rangebound, stuck between $200 and $400 since 2017. But this week the stock staged a breakout and is challenging the upper end of the trading range for the first time in a year. Model 3 sales are robust and the company is venturing into pickups, far and away the largest vehicle category in the United State. Of course the stock pushed to the upper end of the trading range, duh! But for those of us that are not drunk on the Koolaid, the real question is whether recent gains are sustainable, or if the stock will be rejected by $400 for the umpteenth time.

No doubt both bulls and bears have compelling arguments supporting their case. But as traders, do we really need to choose sides? Not if we are nimble enough. The upper and lower end of trading ranges give us clear lines in the sand, allowing us to more clearly define our risk. Above this line we are bulls, underneath it, we are bears. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. We don’t care who wins this battle as long as there is a clear victor.

Prior highs near $390 are our trigger point. Above this level we are buyers. Below it, we are sellers. While this seems easy enough, nothing in the market is ever easy and that includes trading breakouts. Most likely, prices will flirt with the prior highs for a while, breaking above and below this level several times before the stock shows its true intention. But as nimble traders, this isn’t a problem for us. We can dart all-in and all-out with a single click. While this will inevitably lead to some whipsaws, that is a small price to pay for both downside protection and profit potential. The big guys only wish they could move as quickly as we do.

Smarter than jumping all-in and all-out, start with a smaller stake and only add more when the trade starts working. That way any losses from the inevitable whipsaws are minor and we will still be in a great position to jump aboard when the true move finally reveals itself.

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Tags: $TSLA S&P 500 $SPY $SPX

Dec 18

What to expect in 2020

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis:

This is the time of the year when pundits stand on their soapboxes and tell the world what will happen next year. That said, I will be the first to admit I don’t have a crystal ball and won’t even pretend to guess what economic calamities will or won’t happen next year. But even with that limitation, there are still reliable clues we can use to estimate what 2020 will be like.

2019 was the year of a generous and gentle rally. The market climbed nearly 30% and most pullbacks were benign and prices recovered quickly. This strength was definitely aided by a snapback from 2018’s grossly oversold 4th quarter, but regardless of the source, this was the market’s second strongest annual performance since the dot-com bubble. Unfortunately for us, 2020 will look nothing like 2019. The market almost never repeats a performance and next year won’t be any different. If we cross strong rally off the list of possibilities, that leaves us with modest rally, modest dip, and stock market crash.

While stock market crashes are scary and forever seared into the memory of anyone who lives through one, they are exceedingly rare. Most active traders will only see one or two in their careers. Will next year be one of those years? Probably not. Especially since the market is not grossly overbought or overleveraged like it was during the dot-com and housing bubbles. Stocks are definitely not cheap, but they are not “bubblelicious” either.

Crossing both extremes off the list leaves us with a little up or a little down. At this point, I could see either happening. The labor market is stretched and labor shortages will keep a lid on economic growth going forward. If a business cannot find new staff, it cannot expand no matter how strong demand is. On the other side, modest stock market gains could easily be wiped out if an unpopular Republican president is replaced by a Democrat. Fear of looming regulations and taxes will send stocks retreating in the final months of 2020. And so, that is my prediction, fairly modest gains between 5% and 10% if Trump wins. If he loses, expect a flat year.

But where we end is only one piece of the puzzle. How we get there is even more important to active traders. Everyone knows stocks cannot sit still and like a sugared-up 5-year-old, they always have to be moving. Sometimes they move up for extended periods like 2019. Other times they decline relentlessly like 2008. But most of the time, they move up and down for no other reason than they cannot sit still. 2020 will be a year of moving just because. That means lots of moderate dips and bounces along the way. While it won’t show up in a long-term portfolio, 2020 will be a great year for the opportunistic swing-trader.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Dec 17

Bitcoin: a tardy update

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Update:

I contemplated writing about Bitcoin last week and given this latest dive, I really should have done it sooner. But hey, better late than never.

Bitcoin was hovering just above $7k support for a few weeks after retreating from this fall’s impressive $10k surge. Bulls have been trying to break the brutal bear market that started back in early 2018 and this latest run to $10k was the noblest attempt thus far. Unfortunately for the Bulls, the wider public failed to embrace the rebound and prices retreated from a lack of demand.

In 2018 Bitcoin went from the thing everyone wanted to the butt of every joke. Many late-to-the-party buyers were burned and they were not about to lose their hard-earned money a second time. And not only was the wider public not interested, but most of the Bitcoin bulls bought everything they could afford on the way down and they didn’t have any money left to add either. Mix those two factors together and you had the recipe for a failed rebound.

I’ve been warning Premium Analysis subscribers to be careful of Bitcoin’s latest rebound and while it seems a little late now that prices are down 35%, that warning is just as applicable. Buyers are still missing and if they didn’t save us at $7k, there is little reason to think anyone will come to our rescue at $6k.

If there is one saving grace, it is that Bitcoin bulls are a stubborn bunch. Anyone who hasn’t sold yet is a “Hodler” and plans on taking their coins to their grave. That undying confidence keeps supply tight every time prices dip under key support levels. Unfortunately, tight supply is only half of the equation and the best it can do is slow the descent. At this point, I see no reason to own Bitcoin because the bear market is alive and well. Expect prices to fall even further over the near and medium-term.

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Tags: Bitcoin $BTC.X

Dec 16

The Bull Market No One Saw Coming

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis:

This weekend Bloomberg published an article titled “The Bull Market Almost No One Saw Coming“. While I don’t want to delve into the content of the article, the title triggered me a little bit. I saw this bull market coming from a mile away and you should have seen it too.

I’m not psychic or anything of the sort, but to me, this decade long bull market was fairly obvious to anyone who spent time looking at long-term historical charts. Over the last 100 years, there have been multiple “Lost Decades”. These were extremely discouraging periods triggered stock market crashes and the indexes spent the better part of 10 years trying to get back to the old highs. The most recent “Lost Decade” being 2000 to 2013.

While everyone was giving up hope 10 years ago after the Financial crisis, I saw tons of opportunituy. Sure, stocks obviously got too far ahead of themselves during the dot-com bubble and again during the housing bubble. But after a decade of trading sideways, a lot was happening in the real world that wasn’t being reflected in stock prices. In real terms, stocks were actually getting cheaper as the economy grew and equities failed to keep up.

Looking back in history, similar events transpired in the 1910s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1970s. Huge, brutal bear markets devastated stocks and turned an entire generation into cynics. But just when the masses had given up all hope, the market stunned us with the 1920s, 1950/60s, and the 1990s. Four times the market lost a decade and four times the market came roaring back. Was the 2000’s “Lost Decade” going to be any different? No, of course not.

Some of the best investment opportunities in the history of the stock market came in the 10 years following a “Lost Decade”. This time was no different. The only people who didn’t see this bull market coming were the ones who don’t know their history.

As for what comes next, is this bull market tired? Is a crash long overdue? Not if you look at history. Stocks rallied for nearly 20 years between the early 1980s and the late 1990s. By that measure, we could easily see another decade of strong gains before the next “Big One”. Of course, the worst day in stock market history happened during that 20-year bull market in 1987, so we cannot be complacent. But the prognosis for the next 10 years is still good even if we run into a few 20% corrections along the way.

(I’ve written well over 2,000 articles over the last decade, but it would be interesting to sort through some of the old ones from 10 years ago now that everyone knows how it turned out. Sign up for FREE Email Alerts if you want to read those posts when I write them.)

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Dec 13

Is AMZN buyable here?

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis:

The S&P 500 is racing to record levels, yet AMZN is stuck in reverse and down 13% from July’s highs. What gives?

I’m not a fundamental investor and will leave the financial report crunching to someone else, but this dramatic price divergence tells us something is definitely not right with this stock and it lost its darling status.

If there was one thing that could have saved AMZN, it would have been a blowout holiday shopping season. But rather than cheer Black Friday’s sales numbers, investors sent the stock down 3% since Black Friday. That pretty much dashed any hope of this stock rebounding before the end of the year.

The biggest challenge facing AMZN is it is struggling to find its footing just above $1,700 support. This is a key technical level stretching back a couple of years, but more importantly, it provided critical support during the June and October dips. Unfortunately for the stock, double-bottoms are a thing, triple-bottoms, not so much. And right now the stock is threatening to challenge $1,700 support for the third time in six months.

The very fact we returned to this level for the third time is a huge red flag and should make investors nervous. But more than that is these feeble rebound attempts since the October bounce. There just isn’t any life left in this stock. If people were going to buy this rebound, they would have done it already. Slipping back to these levels again tells me the worst is still ahead of us.

But not to give up all hope, a sharp crash under $1700 could actually be a good thing for the stock. That could be the capitulation the stock needs to recover its mojo. While I wouldn’t touch AMZN right now, if it slices through $1700 support in a fantastically ugly way, but then bounces back days or weeks later, that would be a compelling signal the stock is finally buyable again.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $AMZN

Dec 12

The Trade War is over, now what?

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis:

The trade war is over and the S&P 500 surged nearly one whole percent!

Well, not exactly. The trade war is nowhere near over but Trump tweeted, “Getting VERY close to a BIG DEAL with China.” That kicked off this morning’s explosive rally. Well, calling it explosive might be overstating the situation a tad, but it was a good day and the index closed at all-time highs.

Anyone hoping for more is sadly disappointed by this somewhat muted reaction. But this shouldn’t surprise those of us that have been paying attention. Yesterday I wrote that the stock market was growing tired of trade war headlines and deal or no deal, we shouldn’t expect a move greater than 1% in either direction. Today we got the strongest indication yet of a deal and the index surged a measly 0.86%.

More important than deal or no deal is how well the market has been performing this quarter. Despite the relentless barrage of negative headlines, stocks continue pushing into record highs. While some people claim the market is complacent and that complacency precedes the fall, the thing most people fail to mention is complacency can last for a really, really long time. When confident owners refuse to sell, supply stays tight and prices remain firm. This will end badly at some point because it always does, but this is not that point. In the meantime enjoy the ride.

As for what happens in January, I have thoughts on 2020 but will save those for another post. Sign up for FREE Email Alerts so you don’t miss those thoughts.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Dec 11

Does the Trade War matter anymore?

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis:

Despite what the naysayers claim, the S&P 500 continues defying gravity and is hovering near all-time highs. This is even more impressive since the next round of tariff hikes are scheduled to take effect this Sunday. The list of reasons this market should be down is a mile long, yet here we stand.

Bears claim it is only time before the crowd realizes how bad the situation really is. But here is the thing, none of these bearish claims are secret. Everyone knows about the slowing global economy. The trade war between the world’s two largest economies has been raging for nearly two years. Impeachment, does anyone actually care? Everything is out there and the crowd already knows about it. There is no waiting for the other shoe to drop, the shoe already dropped. And most importantly, no one cared.

We trade what the market does, not what we think it should do. If this market doesn’t want to go down, we only have two choices, jump aboard, or get out of the way. Fighting it is only going to get yourself killed.

As for this weekend’s trade war escalation, the market has been growing bored of these headlines and every escalation and resolution has been received with a smaller and smaller reaction. Deal or no deal, it really doesn’t matter. We pop 1% if we get a deal, we dip 1% if we don’t. The days of five and ten percent moves are long behind us. The people who fear the trade war sold a long time ago and confident dip buyers took their place. If these dip buyers were not bothered by Trade War 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, or 4.0, chances are 5.0 won’t bother them either.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Sep 10

Jani’s Trading Diary: September 10th, 2019

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

My Trading Diary

The S&P 500 tumbled for a second day, but the losses were relatively mild as compared to recent volatility. Nothing wrong with a little give back following a strong move over the last few weeks. That said, I was feeling defensive and yesterday’s mediocre close convinced me to take profits in 1/3 of my position. No doubt this was premature, but I had profits and I didn’t want to let them get away. Plus I still have 1/3 left and will benefit if prices rebound. And as I often write, I can always get back in.

I still feel good about the medium-term prospects, but we could test the 50dma and 2,950 over the next few days. That would be a normal and healthy thing to do. Or maybe this morning’s dip is as far as we go. Either way, this market wants to go higher, not lower and every dip is a buying opportunity.

My Trading Plan

Most Likely Next Move: A little cool down that will bounce soon. If the bottom isn’t already in, look for a bounce near 2,950ish.

My Trading Plan: Took some profits yesterday, but already looking to get back in if we close well.

If I’m Wrong: Prices undercut 2,950 and that triggers a tidal wave of defensive selling. But as long as we stick to our stops, then all that dip is is another profit opportunity.

Aug 29

Free Premium Analysis Excerpt: August 29th, 2019

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

A free excerpt from today’s Premium Analysis:

Market Mentor

Tuesday morning’s gains launched us above the psychologically significant 2,900 level and prices are within 100-points of all-time highs. People who sold last week’s headlines are now having second thoughts, and that’s the way this game goes. Traders who make the most money are the ones that trade proactively, not react reflexively to what everyone else is doing.

There is a very important difference between selling because your preplanned stop was hit and selling because you are scared things will get worse. Just like there is a difference between holding because that is what your trading plan said you would do and holding because you are hoping that the market will bounce at any moment. Pros trade their plans, amateurs trade their gut.

While there is no guarantee a trading plan will produce a profit in any single trade, following a solid trading plan definitely guarantees better odds for success over the long run. Always plan your trades. That includes when to buy, when to sell defensively, and when to take profits. Just as important, anytime we get flushed out for a loss, don’t get discouraged because the next buying opportunity could be hours away.

At the moment, the market is buyable as long as we hold 2,900 support. The opening gap made it a little more risky to buy because a sensible stop under 2,900 is a little further away. But we can manage that larger risk by trading smaller. Start small and add more after the position starts working.

In addition to the Market Mentor, premium subscribers receive Premium Analysis, Trading Plan, Highfliers, and Trade Ideas every day during market hours.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Aug 26

How to profit sensibly from this volatility

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis:

On Monday, the S&P 500 recovered a chunk of Friday’s trade war tumble. Last week Trump “ordered” U.S. companies to stop doing business in China and that sent traders scrambling for the exits. But as bad as a 2.6% loss seems, it wasn’t the biggest loss this month. Heck, it wasn’t even the second-biggest loss of in Agust. While three 2.5%+ losses in as many weeks is terrifying, the market is actually holding up remarkably well and is still within 150-points of all-time highs.

Is this a stubbornly bullish market that refuses to breakdown, or a market teetering on the edge of collapse? That’s what we want to know.

Today’s strength was a good sign. The trade war didn’t get worse over the weekend and rather than continue selling the fear, traders were more inclined to buy last week’s discounts. Major selloffs are dominated by “sell first, ask questions later”. Any break in the selling gives people time to analyze the situation and almost always the calm allows people to realize things are not as bad as feared. The trade war has been brewing for a year and a half and it hasn’t killed this bull. That’s doesn’t count as proof these escalations cannot break this market, but odds are a trend is more likely to continue than reverse. Until further notice, expect the market to keep withstanding these trade war headwinds.

Currently, the market finds itself in between two psychologically significant levels, 2,800 and 2,900. While this is a stubbornly resilient market, it is also extremely volatile and that means we should resist the urge to rush in. Wait for the market to prove itself before buying the dip. If prices recover 2,900, that is the signal to jump in. If prices tumble and under 2,800, wait to buy until prices bounce back above this support level.

A big part of the reason to wait until prices recover a key support level is that lets us place a stop close by. The tighter our stop, the less money we have at risk. Another important strategy in volatile markets is reducing our position size so that a big opening gap doesn’t leave us with an uncomfortable loss. While making money is great, long-term success comes from limiting our losses. This volatility is giving us a lot of great trading opportunities, just make sure you keep your risks in check.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Aug 22

What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis

The S&P 500 started Thursday with nice gains, but a midmorning selloff pushed prices into the red. But rather than trigger a waterfall selloff and crash through 2,900 support, supply dried up, and prices rebounded nicely of the early lows.

Volatility is elevated, and that means abrupt moves in both directions as traders overreact to every bump in the road. And while volatility can be unsettling, the market is actually trading well, all things considered.

Headlines have been quite bearish between Trump’s never-ending trade war escalations with China, the Fed sending out conflicting signals about interest rate policy, and technical indicators telling us the US economy could be headed into a recession. Common sense tells us the market should be down 15%, not the fairly trivial 3% we find ourselves from all-time highs.

There are two ways to interpret this reluctance for the stock market to crash. Either confident owners are incredibly nieve and the crash is coming. Or confident owners are indifferent to these headlines and their lack of selling means these headlines no longer matter (i.e., are priced in).

No doubt you picked the scenario that fits the best with your bearish or bullish disposition. But the thing to remember about stock market crashes is they are brutally quick and happen before most people even know what hit them. There is no time to debate the fundamentals and make a sensible trading decision to sell before things get worse. There is the freefall, and if you stop to think twice, it is already too late.

To put this in context of current market conditions, the big “oh shit” moment happened 21 days ago when Trump announced he was adding tariffs to the last $300 billion in Chinese imports not already taxed. The stock market imploded over the next four days. But after that initial kneejerk of reactive selling, prices have recovered a big chunk of those losses.

If a person believes stock market crashes move in slow motion and we have plenty of time to make thoughtful trading decisions, then they should be nervous. For the rest of us, a market that refuses to go down on bad news will eventually go up.

If prices dip under 2,900 on Friday after the Fed chairman speaks, bouncing back above support is our signal to buy. On the other hand, if prices don’t even slip to 2,900 support, that is our signal this market is stubbornly resilient and higher prices, not lower prices, are ahead of us.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $QQQ

Aug 20

Putting today’s selloff in perspective

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis:

The S&P 500 stumbled Tuesday, shedding 0.8%, but this selling shouldn’t come as a surprise. August has been a volatile month for stocks, and the previous two days of substantial gains left us vulnerable to a normal and routine step back. While this 0.8% loss would be significant in calmer times, it is quite a bit smaller than the gains and losses over the last few weeks, and it should be taken in that context. Noteworthy, but not alarming.

More importantly, the S&P500 finds itself near 2,900 support. This is after multiple dips under this psychologically significant level over the last few weeks. Trade tensions flared and recession fears spread over the previous few weeks, causing many investors to shift to a defensive posture. But rather than devolve into a downward spiral of selling, supply dried up under 2,900 and prices bounced. That’s because confident owners remain stubbornly confident. It is hard to trigger a waterfall selloff when so few owners are interested in selling their beloved stocks. When traders stop selling the headlines, they stop mattering. And there is a good chance that is what happened here.

This afternoon’s close pushed prices back to 2,900 support. And while this development is noteworthy and worth our attention, the longer we resist selling off, the less likely it is we will selloff. That’s because market crashes are breathtakingly quick and unravel before most people realize what happened. This “crash” is entering its third week. If this market was fragile and vulnerable, it would have crumbled weeks ago.

If the S&P 500 tumbles under 2,900 support over the next few days, we have to adopt a defensive posture, but if prices bounce back above this key level, that is our buy signal. We trade the market, not the headlines. No matter what we think is going on around us, the only opinion that matters is the market’s.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $QQQ

Jul 10

Fear the highs or embrace them?

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After Hours-Analysis:

Find my Trading Plan at the end of this post.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified in front of congress Wednesday, suggesting the Fed is ready to cut interest rates later this month in order to protect the U.S. economy against the risks of slower global growth and trade-policy uncertainty. His dovish testimony put traders in a buying mood and the S&P500 briefly poked its head above the psychologically significant 3,000 milestone. While that was great for the record books, as I’ve written previously, we are still stuck in the slower summer months and that means we don’t have the firepower necessary to fuel an explosive move higher. Instead, expect prices to move more methodically. But as long as there is more up than down, all is good.

All of the negativity that hung over the market last year has disappeared. But this is no surprise, in early June I wrote the following when traders were scrambling for cover after the S&P 500 challenged 2,800 support:

“We trade the market we are giving and so far this one keeps acting like it wants to go higher. As long as we hold 2,800 support, then we should continue giving it the benefit of doubt. Follow the market’s lead. If it doesn’t want to be bothered by the trade war, then neither should we. If prices continue recovering next week and remain above 2,800 support, Monday’s dip to 2,750 was just another buyable dip on our way higher.”

And here we are, nearly 7% higher since I wrote that.

The Fed stopped raising rates. We got a truce in the trade war. The Fed is even contemplating rate cuts. And most importantly, despite all the worry, the economy is still holding up remarkably well. Of all of the things that could have gone wrong, we avoided the worst. In fact, things actually turned out pretty well. As usual, the traders overreacted to “what ifs” and that triggered to last fall’s stock crash. But for those of us that recognize the buying opportunity, those repressed stock prices gave the opportunity to profit from the inevitable “less bad than feared”. Avoiding the worst is all it took to get us back to the highs.

Now that we’re making new highs, there isn’t any reason to stop. At least over the near-term. The headline storms are parting and this market rallied every time tensions cooled off. There is no reason to think it won’t happen this time too. That said, temper your expectations. Big money is still on vacation and that means a bigger directional move won’t happen until their deep pockets return in the fall. Until then, enjoy this gentile glide higher.

Market Mentor

It feels like I’ve said this a million times this year, but the best plan is always sticking with what is working. If this market wants to go higher, there is no reason to argue with it. The previous three days of early weakness was met with indifference. In fact, most traders were more inclined to buy the opening dip than jump aboard the selling.

Conventional wisdom tells us complacent markets are dangerous, but the thing conventional wisdom always forgets to mention is how long markets can remain complacent before they fail. This bull market will die like all of the others that came before it. But this is not that time. Until further notice, keep doing what has been working.

Trading Plan

Most Likely Next Move: The slow glide higher continues. Down days are inevitable, but as long as there is more up than down, all is good.

Trading Plan: Stick with what is working and that is buying any dip and every breakout.

If I’m Wrong: Headline fear-mongering comes roaring back. The most likely culprits are either a return of trade war escalations or the Fed disappointing by not cutting rates at their next meeting. Either of these events are still weeks away, so we don’t need to worry too much about them right now.

Highfliers

FB and AMZN are breaking above their recent highs and look great technically. NFLX is close behind but hasn’t exceeded recent highs yet. But if the broad market keeps trading well, expect NFLX to follow suit. AAPL is a little further back, but it is still performing well given the trade risks the company is faced with. GOOGL is the biggest laggard of the bunch, but that also means it has the most room to improve. It is well off its lows and seems like traders are growing immune to the anti-trust issues facing the company.

Bitcoin flirted with $13k again this morning. We’ve come a long way from the $3k lows of only a few months ago. While anything is possible with something as volatile and speculative as BTC, a little cooling off and consolidation above $10k would go a long way to refreshing the market and building a solid platform for the next move higher. $10k continues to be the line in the sand. As long as we stay above it, everything looks good. But it could be a while before we see the next explosive move higher. There is nothing to prevent a buying frenzy from pushing us through $15k tomorrow, but it is prudent to prepare for a longer wait before the next big move higher.

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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM $AAPL $AMZN $AAPL $NFLX $GOOGL $BTC.X

Jun 25

How to trade this stalling at resistance

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Analysis:

The S&P 500 stumbled Tuesday in the biggest loss in nearly a month. Last week’s relief as prices surged to all-time highs has turned into this week’s second thoughts. Nothing material has changed in the headlines, but running into resistance near the highs was inevitable as I explained last week:

“Now that prices bounced back near all-time highs, the question is, “what comes next?” I wish I could say the path is rosy for as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, that is never the case. Momentum is definitely higher and prices will creep back toward all-time highs next week and even start encroaching on 3,000, but the thing we need to remember is we are stuck in the slower summer season. That means big money is on vacation and without their buying power, it will be hard for smaller investors to fund a larger directional move. For that, we need big money and they won’t be back until the fall. So temper your expectations until then.”

That said, 1% losses are normal and routine. If anything, we should be more surprised by the lack of them, not that one happened today.

The biggest financial headlines continue to revolve around the Fed’s interest rate policy and Trump’s trade war with China. While the Fed didn’t cut rates last week, they said the right things and pushed stock prices to record highs. But that was largely expected, so the bounce was short-lived and now traders are shifting their attention back to trade negotiations as Trump and president Xi are scheduled to meet later this week.

The last time these two got together, they diffused the trade situation with Trump agreeing to postpone a tariff increase. But that reprieve was only temporary and May’s stock tumble started after Trump surprised everyone by going ahead with those tariffs.

Will we see more of the same this time? Probably. Both sides will play nice for the cameras and that will send hope back into the market. But when it comes to actually putting a deal together, the details could derail the process for the umpteenth time since these negotiations started more than a year ago.

Sentiment moves in waves. Periods of relief are inevitably followed by periods of second-guessing. And we should expect the same here. Prices that dip are viewed as good bargains and are snapped up by savvy investors despite the negative headlines. The opposite happens as prices rise on good news and become expensive. Rather than pay the premium, savvy investors are locking in profits and waiting for the next bargain.

As prices push up to resistance during the slower summer months, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see the rate of gains stall. The only question is if this market refreshes by dipping or by trading sideways. I don’t know the answer to that, but I don’t need to in order to make a good trade. Instead, we wait for the market to tell us what it wants to do and then we jump aboard and enjoy the ride.

[bctt tweet=”Buyable dip or breakout after a lengthy consolidation? Both are very tradable and we should formulate a trading plan around each scenario.” username=”crackedmarket”]

Buyable dip or breakout after a lengthy consolidation? Both are very tradable and we should formulate a trading plan around each scenario. What signals do you need to see before jumping in? How much of a dip? What constitutes a breakout? I know what works for me, but my risk tolerance and time frame are different than yours. Decide what works for you and then go for it. And just as important as when to get in, don’t forget a plan to get out. That includes both stop-losses and when to take profits. The next trade is coming. Now is the time to get ready for it.

Trading Plan:

Most Likely Next Move: Consolidating after running into resistance near all-time highs. The market will either refresh through a buyable dip back to support, or an extended sideways consolidation under resistance followed by an upside breakout.

Trading Plan: Buy the next dip or the next breakout

If I’m Wrong: Rather than consolidate, Trump and the Fed answer all of the market’s prayers and prices smash through the highs and don’t look back. Any large upside move needs a fundamental catalyst to suck in new buyers. If we see a headline driven buying frenzy, join the party and enjoy the ride higher.

Bitcoin continues its wild gyrations, but more important than any of these daily swings is that prices remained firmly above $10k. That is the line in the sand. Stay above it and all is good. Fall under it and that could be the end of this bounce. The risks are extraordinarily high. The safe time to buy was back at $4k. People chasing prices above $10k face a good chance of getting burned. Volatility and the risks are too high for my tastes. I’d rather wait to see BTC hold these prices for a while before betting on a bigger move higher. That means I might miss the next move. But I’m okay with that. There is investing and there is gambling. To me, betting on a big move higher today is a lot closer to gambling than investing. As the saying goes, it is better to miss the bus than get hit by the bus.

What’s a good trade worth to you?
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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM $AAPL $AMZN

Jun 18

A lot can change in a few short weeks

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Update

Trading Plan: at the end of this post.

The S&P 500 burst higher Tuesday, ending last week’s stalemate between 50dma support and 2,900 resistance. The market is excited to see the ECB and Fed inching toward economically stimulating rate cuts. Further boosting sentiment, Trump and the Chinese president scheduled a face-to-face meeting next week to resolve their trade differences.

Three weeks ago the market was in the dumps and traders were abandoning stocks ahead of what many assumed would be a much larger summer swoon. Fast forward to this his week and everything is great and the market is approaching all-time highs. And so swings the pendulum of sentiment. But these developments shouldn’t come as a surprise for regular readers of this blog.

Two weeks ago I wrote the following:

“[W]e trade the market we are giving and so far this one keeps acting like it wants to go higher. As long as we hold 2,800 support, then we should continue giving it the benefit of doubt.

I won’t pretend like I know what Trump is going to do and if those decisions will push the US into a recession. Instead, we follow the market’s lead. If it doesn’t want to be bothered by these things, then neither should we.

[I]f prices continue recovering next week and remain above 2,800 support, Monday’s dip to 2,750 was just another buyable bump on our way higher.”

Now that prices bounced back near all-time highs, the question is, “what comes next?” I wish I could say the path is rosy for as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, that is never the case. Momentum is definitely higher and prices will creep back toward all-time highs next week and even start encroaching on 3,000, but the thing we need to remember is we are stuck in the slower summer season. That means big money is on vacation and without their buying power, it will be hard for smaller investors to fund a larger directional move. For that, we need big money and they won’t be back until the fall. So temper your expectations until then.

The biggest headlines ahead of us continue to be a resolution/breakdown of the US/Chinese trade negotiations and a change in the Fed’s interest rate policy. A constructive trade deal would remove a major uncertainty hanging over the market. A breakdown and escalation will renew uncertainty. I wish I could predict the outcome, but it is hard when dealing with leaders and their egos. Neither leader wants to be viewed as caving and that is how we got to this point. Will it get better? Maybe. But there is also a reason this has dragged on for nearly a year without a resolution.

Luckily, the market has been placing less emphasis on the trade war. People who fear these headlines sold a long time ago and were replaced by confident dip buyers who don’t mind these headlines. This process of purge and replace is how markets price bad news in. Eventually, it gets to the point where there is no one left to sell a headline and the market stops caring. The longer this trade war drags on, the closer we get to that point. May’s tumble started when Trump surprised everyone by doubling the taxes on Chinese imports. While that lead to some near-term weakness, it was short lived and the market has since recovered nicely. A further escalation will send a shock through the market again, but this reaction will be even smaller.

Far more important to traders is what the Fed does. Expectations of rate cuts grow by the day. Disappointing employment numbers were met with cheers earlier this month because that increases the odds of a rate cut. It is actually getting to the point that the market will be disappointed if the Fed doesn’t cut rates soon. And given how cautious the Fed has been, there is a good chance it could continue its “wait and see” approach. That would disappoint the overly optimistic take the air out of this hope-filled rebound.

I won’t pretend like I know what Trump and the Fed will do next. Instead, I will focus on the market and make my trading decisions based upon what it is doing and where the risks lie. The market is acting well, but prices are quickly approaching resistance near the old highs. The higher prices go, the greater the risks. The swift June rebound means buying now is riskier than it was a few weeks ago. If the market is settling into a summer trading range between 2,800 and 2,950, this is a better time to be taking profits than adding new money. That said, if the bad news holds off for a couple of weeks, we could see prices inch toward 3,000. But as always, there are no guarantees in the market. What a person does here depends on their timeframe and risk tolerance.

Trading Plan

Most Likely Next Move: Momentum is higher and prices will return to 2,950 resistance and even break through it over the next couple of weeks if the bad news holds off.

Trading Plan: Approaching resistance is a better place to be taking profits than adding new money. If the market continues to trade well, we can always buy back in. If prices stumble, a person cannot buy the dip unless they have cash.

If I’m Wrong: The Fed cuts rates and Trump and the Chinese kiss and makeup. Adding monetary stimulus and removing political uncertainty will send prices sharply higher. But if these events trigger a bigger move, there will be plenty of time to jump aboard it.

What’s a good trade worth to you?
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Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

Jun 06

The good and bad of trading this market

By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis

Free After-Hours Update:

TL;DR: At the end.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 continued its rebound from a dip under 2,800 support. But such a reversal shouldn’t surprise readers of this blog. Last week I wrote:

“Tuesday’s tumble challenges 2,800 support for the third time this month and obviously, there are two ways this plays out. Either the market collapses, or prices bounce. Of course, what that looks like over the next few days and weeks is less obvious. The most likely scenario is prices crash through 2,800 support and just when things look their most hopeless, supply dries up and prices bounce.

The stock market loves fooling everyone and violating support just before bouncing is the best way to trick both sides into giving away money. Convince the bulls to abandon their favorite positions all while tempting bears to jump on the short bandwagon. But rather than prove these second-guessers and cynics right, the market embarrasses both by turning around not long after they make their bearish trades.”

And so far that is exactly what happened this week.

Now that prices are back above 2,800 support, the question is what comes next?

The biggest headline in front of us is Monday’s deadline for new tariffs on all Mexican imports. If Trump follows through on his threats, it creates an all-new front to his trade wars. This adds punitive taxes on imports from our two largest trading partners. New taxes are great if you are a government bureaucrat and love spending other people’s money. Unfortunately, new taxes are a burden on hard-working American consumers and US business. And as most business savvy people know, increasing taxes is never good for the economy.

[bctt tweet=”It doesn’t matter what the Fed does, if the US economy falls into a recession, stocks will go down.” username=”crackedmarket”]

The biggest threat is if these growth robbing taxes push the US economy into a recession and is why the Fed is growing increasingly cautious. They told us this week they were open to rate cuts if the trade war weakens the US economy and those comments kicked off the latest rebound. But in reality, it doesn’t matter what the Fed does, if the US economy falls into a recession, stocks will go down.

No matter what happens months from now, we trade the market we are giving and so far this one keeps acting like it wants to go higher. As long as we hold 2,800 support, then we should continue giving it the benefit of doubt. But if we cannot hold this critical support level and start a new trend of lower highs, we need to shift to a more defensive outlook and for the first time in a long time, that includes our long-term investments.

I won’t pretend like I know what Trump is going to do and if those decisions will push the US into a recession. Instead, we follow the market’s lead. If it doesn’t want to be bothered by these things, then neither should we. If it wants to overreact to them, then that reaction is what we need to base our trades on.

Prices peaked in early May near 2,950. We bounced up to 2,875 in mid-May. And now we are bouncing to 2,840 in early June. If prices fall under 2,800 next week, that will mark our third lower-high and things don’t look good. But if prices continue recovering next week and remain above 2,800 support, this Monday’s dip to 2,750 was just another bump on our way higher.

[bctt tweet=”Politicians are holding this market hostage and traditional stock analysis doesn’t apply. The best we can do is follow the market’s lead and trade accordingly.” username=”crackedmarket”]

I wish I could be more definitive with my outlook, but politicians are holding this market hostage and traditional stock analysis doesn’t apply. The best we can do is follow the market’s lead and trade accordingly.

Most Likely Next Move: If prices hold above 2,800 next week, then all is good. If we crash back under support so quickly after retaking it, demand is becoming a serious problem and we should expect lower lows.

Trading Plan: Buy the dip, but keep a tight stop. Start small and only add more after the trade starts working.

If I’m Wrong: Trump’s trade war is killing this bull market and that will show up as a series of lower highs. If investor sentiment flips, this could be the start of a much longer retreat.

What’s a good trade worth to you?
How about avoiding a loss?
For less than $1/day, have profitable analysis like this delivered to your inbox every day during market hours

Follow Jani on Twitter @crackedmarket

Tags: S&P 500 Nasdaq $SPY $SPX $QQQ $IWM

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