After the Fed driven sell-off that delivered support breaks for some of the indices there was an attempt by bulls to stage a bounce, but traders weren't able to build on the sizable opening gaps, and some indices drifted lower by the close. The Russell 2000 ($IWM) lost the most ground off the open. However, today's close was enough to regain support, leaving yesterday's action as a potential 'bear trap'. Technicals are net bearish oversold. And today's buying volume was below yesterday's selling (distribution). The S&P finished the day where it started, which is also 20-day MA resistance. Aggressive traders could go with a swing trade as the next move could be sizable (particularly if the move is higher). The Nasdaq is dominated by the trading range, but within that we have a consolidation triangle. As it stands, the index is at resistance of this triangle, and given recent selling volume I would be looking for a move to close today...

After the Fed driven sell-off that delivered support breaks for some of the indices there was an attempt by bulls to stage a bounce, but traders weren't able to build on the sizable opening gaps, and some indices drifted lower by the close. The Russell 2000 ($IWM) lost the most ground off the open. However, today's close was enough to regain support, leaving yesterday's action as a potential 'bear trap'. Technicals are net bearish oversold. And today's buying volume was below yesterday's selling (distribution). The S&P finished the day where it started, which is also 20-day MA resistance. Aggressive traders could go with a swing trade as the next move could be sizable (particularly if the move is higher). The Nasdaq is dominated by the trading range, but within that we have a consolidation triangle. As it stands, the index is at resistance of this triangle, and given recent selling volume I would be looking for a move to close today...

The Russell 2000 ($IWM) delivered on its 'bull trap' as the reversal came all the way back to support before undercutting $288. Selling volume was high but not excessive as the index now looks on course to test its 200-day MA. Stochastics are oversold, and in a bear move these can stay like this for an extended period - so don't be banking on a bounce. What would be bullish is if we get a 'bear trap'; i.e. a close above $287. In the intermediate term (to the end of year) we are due a tradable bounce and a 'bull trap' would set up for one quite nicely.

Bitcoin is again on the move, looking more bullish than my initial "bullish outlook". I had looked for a more pronounced 'bear trap' on a duck to the 50-day MA, but instead buyers stepped in and shorts were forced to cover buy. This is excellent right-hand-base development on the longer weekly chart, and it's hard not to see Bitcoin challenging $125K by 2028, if not sooner. It will still be volatile, but long-term investors waiting for a new entry opportunity should wait for prices to narrow again in low volume, then buy-and-not-look-back. Long term buyers should not get sucked into the daily machinations of cryptocurrencies, and should have a proper long term outlook of years - not months or weeks... Anything shorter will need to use adequate risk:reward. If I was to stick my neck out, I might look for $100K for end-of-year and measure risk based on that target. As an asset, I hate cryptocurrencies (and the sphere around them), but they do appear to be influenc...