Indices Tick Over For Another Week

The week passed with little change in lead indices. The Nasdaq is moving sideways after trading flat out of its five month rising price channel. The index is underperforming relative to the Russell 2000 with a 'sell' trigger in the MACD, but other technicals are bullish. Friday's narrow range day came with higher volume distribution but it was more of a neutral close to the week. It's anyone's game for next week.

The S&P clocked a third day of flat trading on very light volume. All technicals are bullish, although like the Nasdaq it's underperforming against the Russell 2000.

The index to watch for next week is the Russell 2000. It's coming off a recent breakout on improving technicals, including a relative improvement to the Nasdaq and S&P. It didn't do a whole lot last week but the small 'bull flag' is a positive.


We can't read too much into what happened last week. Trading days were light and intraday ranges narrow. Vacation season has a few more weeks to go before we can start to consider a pick up in volume and perhaps a directional move for markets. 

You've now read my opinion, next read Douglas' blog.

Share on StockTwits

---

Accepting KIVA gift certificates to help support the work on this blog. All certificates gifted are converted into loans for those who need the help more.

Follow Me on Twitter


Investments are held in a pension fund on a buy-and-hold strategy.

.

Popular posts from this blog

S&P "Bull Trap"?

Image
I thought there was sufficient evidence to argue against a "bull trap" in the S&P, but it would appear the market wasn't interested in such thoughts and sellers were quick to reverse the initial push above 4,200.  Adding to the pain were new 'sell' triggers in MACD and On-Balance-Volume, although the former occurred above the 'bullish' zero line, making it a weak signal. Selling volume ranked as distribution as selling momentum picked up speed.  The index is also underperforming relative to the Russell 2000. 
Read more

"Black Candlesticks" are a concern for the S&P and Nasdaq

Image
A bright start for bulls on the back of positive $NVDA earnings wasn't enough to generate a day of meaningful gains.  However, it did help stall the losses of the last couple of days. The Nasdaq was the biggest beneficiary of today's action, but not enough to see an end-of-day finish that cleared last week's swing high, nor delivery of a large white candlestick, despite the morning breakout gap.  Technicals are net bullish and relative performance against the S&P has become consistently stronger since the start of May.  While today's candlestick I would view as typically 'bearish', today's volume ranked as confirmed accumulation (bullish). Overall, I would be looking for higher prices from here. 
Read more

Round 2 for the bearish "black" candlestick in S&P and Nasdaq

Image
The Nasdaq started brightly but ended up closing below its open price, but above yesterday's close. The S&P did something similar, although the intraday range is narrower. These two setups are somewhat complicated by the new 'buy' triggers in On-Balance-Volume for both the Nasdaq and S&P. And the new MACD trigger 'buy' for the S&P. Price action is key, so I would expect the candlestick to trump the technical picture; watch for lower prices tomorrow.
Read more

Archive

Show more