S&P 500 Finishes Consolidation, Fasten Your Seat Belts!

Aibek Burabayev - INO.com Contributor - Metals - S&P 500 Finishes Consolidation


This past February, I drew your attention to the S&P 500 index, which started a consolidation, addressing two critical questions about the future of the index. The most important answer said that we are still in the long-term uptrend and we should keep patience to see the end of the consolidation.

Later in April, I shared an update with you with a detailed plan for two possible options of the ongoing consolidation. The first one implied the development of the familiar Triangular pattern, which in its turn had two possible paths of price action. And the second path with a zigzag inside of the Triangle was drawn with an amazingly accurate prediction as the index just repeated its trajectory.

Another possible option was described within the forecasted Bull Flag pattern. This model didn’t develop as planned as the price couldn’t break below the previous low at $2532; although we were very close to hitting it as the index’s drop reversed just $31 ahead of it at the $2553 level. This plan is very close to invalidation once the price overcomes the earlier top at $2718.

Below I prepared an update of the most valid option for you. Continue reading "S&P 500 Finishes Consolidation, Fasten Your Seat Belts!"

Energy Stocks Boost Wall Street

Hello traders everywhere. I'm doing something a little different today by doing this mid-day video after the close. The reason? As I was preparing, President Trump said he would announce his decision on the Iran nuclear deal at 2 PM EDT on Tuesday. The DOW had been up as much as 219 points on the day before reversing course on the announcement. So with that news affecting the markets, I decided to hold off and see where we landed.

With that being said, overall the stock market finished up on the day with the S&P 500 up +.35%, DOW +.39% and the NASDAQ leading the way with a +.79% being pushed by Amazon and Netflix.

Energy Stocks

But the real market driver today was that oil and the energy sector. Crude oil traded as high as $70.76. That's the highest level since 2014, before it backed off the high to close at $69.89 +.17% on the day.

Key Levels To Watch This Week:

Continue reading "Energy Stocks Boost Wall Street"

Apple and Buffett Push Stock Market Higher

Hello traders everywhere. Stocks are on the rise with a sharp mover higher buoyed by news that Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. bought an additional 75 million shares of Apple Inc. in the first quarter of this year. That makes Berkshire the third-largest investor according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

In an interview on CBNC with Becky Quick, Buffet said that Apple has "a wide, wide gap. I mean it's an amazing business. You can put all of their products on a dining room table."

That news drove Apple to an all-time of $183.87 a share, gaining over 3.5% on the day. Buffett's announcement came just days after Apple reported quarterly sales and profit that topped analysts' estimates on surging services as revenue rose at the fastest pace in more than two years.

Apple Buffett Push Stock Market Higher

The Labor Department reported on Friday that Nonfarm payrolls increased by 164,000 jobs last month, falling short of the estimated 192,000 jobs that analysts were expecting. Data for March was revised up to show the economy adding 135,000 jobs instead of the previously reported 103,000. That was the fewest amount of jobs created in six months and followed the big gain of 324,000 in February. Continue reading "Apple and Buffett Push Stock Market Higher"

Stocks Fall Ahead Of Fed Announcement

Hello traders everywhere. Overall the U.S. stock market is trading lower on the day after a slow opening and trading lower on the week. The reason for today's soft open is the Fed, which is set to release its latest monetary policy decision at 2 p.m. ET. Market expectations for a May rate hike are just 5.7%, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

The NASDAQ is the only index in the green, but that is solely due to Apple. Apple is a cash generating machine rising +4% after it posted resilient iPhone sales in the face of waning global demand and promised $100 billion in additional stock buybacks. But the real surprise was the service revenue with total paid subscriptions reaching 270 million, that's up by 100 million from a year ago.

Fed Announcement

We finally got the green monthly Trade Triangle on the U.S. dollar as it passed through the $92 level hitting new 3 month highs and trading up a little over 1% on the week. The U.S. two-year Treasury yields hit a 9-1/2-year high after data showed U.S. private-sector payrolls for April came roughly in line with market forecasts, cementing expectations for a rate increase in June.

Bitcoin is up .2% on the day but is still stuck in a tight trading range. For the last 12 days, it's been trapped between the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. It needs to make a move above the 200-day MA, which currently stands at the 9,956.44 level, to break out to the upside. Continue reading "Stocks Fall Ahead Of Fed Announcement"

Stocks Positive For Month Despite Weakness

Hello traders everywhere. Although the stock market has slipped into the negative territory on the day all three indexes are looking to post a monthly gain for April. This will mark the first positive monthly gain in two months as volatility has taken a toll on the market over the last three months.

The S&P 500 is posting a monthly gain of +.75%; the DOW is looking to add slightly more to the bottom line with an increase of +.80%, in fact, the DOW hasn't had a losing April since April of 2005. The NASDAQ is posting the lowest monthly gain of +.18 as the tech sector has been under been under extreme pressure and volatility and with Apple (AAPL) earnings right around the corner it could get worse. All indications are that iPhone sells, although positive, are going to miss the mark as far as many analysts are concerned.

Stocks Positive For Month

The U.S. dollar continues to make a comeback with a monthly gain of +1.98%. After posting a weekly loss last week, Crude oil is closing out the month on a strong note and posting a +6% gain on the month. Meanwhile gold is looking so brilliant as it posts a loss of -.69% on the month.

Bitcoin continues to make a comeback, and it is going to have an impressive monthly gain of +31% for April. If you can ride the wave, it certainly can pay dividends. Continue reading "Stocks Positive For Month Despite Weakness"