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By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis
Free After-Hours Analysis:
The S&P 500 popped Monday morning, establishing a new higher-high for this Covid rebound.
As bad as headlines have been, this market continues grinding higher and the index is within 3% of all-time highs. This relentless strength feels shockingly counterintuitive. But the thing we can never forget we trade the market, not the headlines. No matter what we think “should” happen, successful traders always focus on what “is” happening.
Institutional money managers need to anticipate what is around the next corner. It takes weeks, even months for them to move billions of dollars in and out of the market. But as independent investors, we can do the same in less time than it takes to read this post.
Far and away the greatest strength we have is the nimbleness of our size. That lets us ride these counterintuitive moves higher with little risk. We don’t need to know what is around the corner because we are fast enough that we can trade around it when we get there.
If we finally come across a headline worse than a global lockdown, the fastest economic collapse in modern history, and the highest unemployment since the Great Depression, we can pull all of our money out in hours, if not minutes. I have no idea what is worse than the headlines this market already shrugged off, but if it happens, I’m confident we will be able to trade around it when it does happen.
What comes next? Well, more often than not, the market moves to the level everyone is looking at. I’ve been saying for a while this market will challenge all-time highs near 3,400 and I don’t see anything in today’s price action that changes my mind. As long as we continue experiencing more up than down, the rebound is alive and well. There is nothing for us to do other than sit back, enjoy the ride, and keep moving our trailing stops up. (Around 3,200 seems like a good level)
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By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis
Free After-Hours Analysis:
The S&P 500 stumbled into Tuesday’s close, shedding more than 20 points in the final hours of trade. Was this the break bears have been waiting for? As ominous as that late fizzle appeared, the index closed solidly above 3,200 support yesterday. And even more important, the selling didn’t resume today.
Despite all of the “common-sense” reasons stocks should crash, the S&P 500 continues hovering near the rebound’s highs. Oblivious stock owners remain stubbornly confident and are holding for higher prices. From the basic laws of supply and demand, when confident owners refuse to sell the headlines, the headlines stop mattering. It doesn’t get any more straightforward than that.
As is always the case, all of our current headlines can be dissected into half-full and half-empty arguments. The economy is in shambles but corporate earnings are not as bad as feared. Infection rates are spiking but deaths are not seeing the same rise. Governments are reimposing lockdowns but scientists are making good progress on vaccines. The federal government is drowning in debt but the Fed is not even considering raising rates.
Thus far, most owners continue focusing on the half-full side of this situation. That’s because all of the half-empty people abandoned ship during the initial Covid collapse and were replaced by confident dip buyers. Out with the weak and in with the strong. It shouldn’t surprise anyone why this market has been so resilient these last few months.
As long as prices remain above support, there is only one way to trade this. Stick with what has been working and that is holding for higher prices. While the gains have slowed over recent weeks, as long as there is more up than down, expect the S&P 500 to challenge all-time highs this August or September.
That said, few things shatter confidence like tumbling stock prices. Keep updating your trailing stop and be ready to pull the plug if the selling accelerates. As nimble investors, it is far easier to buy back in following a false alarm than it is to watch all of our profits evaporate because we held too long.
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By Jani Ziedins | End of Day Analysis
Free After-Hours Analysis:
The S&P 500 slumped 1.2% after weekly unemployment claims saw their first increase since late March. This triggered the biggest equity decline in nearly a month. Is the market telegraphing worse things to come? Or was this a trivial wobble ahead of the next leg higher?
Clearly the economic rebound stalled. But this isn’t news. We’ve been dealing with surging infection rates since last month and the inevitable return of business restrictions. Today’s employment numbers only confirm what we already knew was coming.
Was today finally the wakeup call the bears have been waiting for? Is the evidence so incontrovertible that even the most oblivious bull can no longer continue living in denial? That’s what the cynics are hoping for anyway. But if the fastest economic collapse in modern history and the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression didn’t spook these oblivious investors, why would anyone assume a modest uptick in initial unemployment claims would be the thing that finally breaks this market?
While today’s loss felt dramatic because volatility has been nonexistent over the last few weeks, a 1.2% Covid fueled dip hardly qualifies as the start of anything. As long as this market remains above 3,200, the rebound is alive and well. Even a dip under 3,200 isn’t that big of a deal if supply dries up quickly. A nimble trader will start peeling off some profits if we dip under 3,200, but this more of a risk management decision than concern about an impending collapse.
Until further notice, I will continue giving this market the benefit of doubt. But, if the selling feeds on itself and prices dip further, it’s not a big deal. We liquidate at our trailing stops and buy the next bounce. As much as I root for our country, economy, and stock market, the more this market dips, the more money I make so I don’t mind.
As I wrote yesterday, TSLA‘s lackluster reaction in after-hours trade to yesterday’s record-setting fourth consecutive profit was an ominous sign. Prices opened green this morning, but that was as good as it got. While the earnings were fantastic, the stock rallied in anticipation of these headlines and it fell into the “sell the news” trap.
Keep holding for higher prices if we bounce tomorrow, but if prices fall under $1,500 get defensive. Even if the future is bright, there is no reason to ride a near-term dip down $500. Lock-in some profits and get ready to buy the next bounce.
If you find these posts useful, please return the favor by liking and sharing them!
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What’s a good trade worth to you?
How about avoiding a loss?
For less than $1/day, have actionable analysis and a trading plan delivered to your inbox every day during market hours
Follow Jani on Twitter @crackedmarket
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