Sunday, July 25, 2010

Market Rallies in the Afternoon

SUMMARY:
- Market a bit hung over, but stumbles along and then rallies in the afternoon on EU stress tests.
- Indices post a higher high, starting the breakout from their inverted head and shoulders.
- EU economic data improves, bolsters US rally despite some weaker earnings reports on Friday.
- Leaders keep setting up and breaking higher, providing the upside impetus.
- Looking for a move to the January peaks and then an important test.

Stocks stumble around after Thursday rally, but then focus after EU stress tests.

The US stock market was a bit hungover on Friday after posting very nice 2%+ gains on Thursday. There is often a little softness in the morning after nice gains, and it was aided by earnings reports that were less than spectacular. AMZN missed by $0.09. MCD beat expectations, but its sales were not as anticipated. MCD suffers the fate of a very successful company that for many quarters has easily topped expectations, growing sales all around the globe. When it was unable to do that this quarter, the market did not treat it kindly. Welcome to the world of NFLX. That is what happened to it on Thursday after several quarters of stomping expectations. It could not stomp them as hard, and it was taken to the cleaners.

It is not that the news was bad; there was actual good news out of Europe. German business confidence was higher than expected indeed, it hit a three-year high. The UK GDP came in at 1.1%. That is not much, but when the expectations were for crap, two times crap is pretty good. This was double is expectations and, consequently, European markets were up. They were up but then started to stumble right before the close. The European stress tests came out after the market closed, and there was a bit of trepidation ahead of the weekend as to what these might show.

US stock futures were down, and they opened the market lower. Looking at the intraday chart, there was a gap lower on the SP500, and it just chopped around. It did manage to move back up to the positive level, but by lunch time, stocks on the SP500 were flat, NASDAQ was lower, and the US markets were generally mixed. They were chopping around, and the question was whether it would be another Captain Ron session where the markets stumble into good fortune, or if it would be more of the up and down trade we have seen for the last couple of months while the US market is basing.

As it turns out, we got Captain Ron once more. He showed up just after lunch when the EU stress tests came out. Out of 91 banks, only 7 of them failed the test. Not many people believed this was an accurate read of the strength and health of the EU banks. Many feel it was a preordained outcome. They threw some of the banks to the dogs one even from Germany but overall they passed when things were not considered that good. After all, we were close to another financial meltdown just a few short months ago.

Whether preordained or not, the market was ready to believe. It wants to believe, and that has been the theme of the market over the past few weeks. It wants to believe things are better, and thus there was the improbable rally that stocks enjoyed after breaking to new 2010 lows. They reversed on what was a false breakdown and rallied. They tested and now have made a higher low and are breaking to a higher high. That is the first step in recovery. It is a long process, but it is the first step. The next step will be taking out the last high before the lower low. That will be much more interesting because that puts the SP500 back up to the January 2010 range. I am getting a bit ahead of myself.

There was a definite Captain-Ron atmosphere in the market, and stocks surged higher into the afternoon, and then they started to chop back and forth. They even tried to sell off in the last hour, but rebounded in the last 15 minutes to close near session highs. NASDAQ +1%, the Dow +1%, SP500 +0.82, SOX +0.5, SP600 +2.1%, NASDAQ 100 +0.66%. NASDAQ 100 had to carry the likes of NFLX and AMZN on its back. When they were down, that is not an easy thing to do. They all finished positive as the Captain Ron, happy-go-lucky stock market continued to move higher. Granted it got the help from earnings most of the week. IBM disappointed, but almost everyone else came through in the clutch. There were outstanding results. Even with a couple of disappointments from some stalwarts of late (namely SNDK, NFLX, and IBM) stock are overall reporting outstanding earnings and, more importantly, excellent guidance. They have plenty of money, but they are just not spending any of it except amongst themselves. I guess that will have to do for now. It is definitely enough to keep the stock market going as it tries to fight its way back up through all of this resistance. So far there was a higher low, a higher high, and still on track to continue to the upside.


OTHER MARKETS.

The other markets more or less continued their recent trends.

Dollar. The dollar was stumbling around once more (1.2914 Euros versus 1.27887 Thursday). Of course it was lower: US earnings were not great to start with, and the EU had good news with the UK and German business confidence. The dollar was lower, although not cataclysmically. The problem with the dollar is that it broke the 2009 trendline, kissed it, and it is falling back. It is in jeopardy of coming back down to the February and March-through-mid-April consolidation. It very easily could drop there. I am not expecting the dollar to rise anytime soon, although I am not expecting any kind of cataclysmic decline.

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Bonds. Bonds took a hit for the second day in a row. Wednesday they were in breakout mode. The stock market was down, and bonds were surging to a new closing high for 2010. That did not last very long; they reversed and started to sell (10 year US Treasury 2.99% versus 2.93% yield Thursday). It was not too long ago they were even higher, so this is still decent and low pricing, but there appears to be an attempt to sell bonds now. That would make sense. With the European economy looking stronger, there is not much need to run to the safety of US bonds. If that means more success for the US economy, then that means there are less US investors putting money in bonds as well. There is a bit of a double top over the past four weeks. We will have so see how far that pushes bonds. The important level is marked by the white horizontal line that runs roughly through the July low. There are some price peaks and closes you can see several of them. Tests along the way. The line goes way back in time, and it is an important one. We will see how it holds. That is the next important test for bonds, and it is being bolstered by a rising 50 day EMA. If it breaks this level with all of these support points, it will be a significant and important move in that bonds are heading lower.


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Gold. Gold has been under pressure, and it continued under pressure. It rallied all the way to the 50 day EMA on the Friday high and reversed to close down ($1,188.50, -7.10). It is starting what looks to be a continuing downtrend towards the 200 day EMA. That just so happens to be at the January 2010 and the March 2010 peaks as well. There are important price highs and lows, and now the 200 day EMA there. That looks to be the next test level. It could pull up around 1155. It is going down to this range from the looks of it. That is why I am still looking for a GLD play to the downside after this test. We would get it and have a nice gain as it drops.

http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/xgld.jpeg


Oil. There is a storm ready to come across Florida and head into the Gulf. It looks like oil has hit an important level itself, rising up to the June twin peaks. Looking back to March, this is a level where oil tested and held as it rallied to highs in its range. Now it is back at this midpoint in this range, and it is testing this area. There was a big burst on Thursday when the storm formed, and now we will see if it pushes on through. If it does not, this will be significant with the storm out there. Granted it is not a huge storm and is not expected to get very strong. Nonetheless, if it does not move up with the storm, that does not say much for oil's prospects of going much higher or at least breaking out of its longer-term range.

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TECHNICAL PICTURE

INTERNALS

Volume. Volume was not bad at all, rising almost 2.4B shares on NASDAQ. That moved it a bit further above average. Thursday was a rising volume day and so was Friday. Not bad action. NYSE volume continues to languish well below average. It struggled to get just over 1B shares, but it did do it for what that is worth. It is still quite weak, so you cannot put a lot of credence into this move. Techs do look a bit better. Some of that tech volume was downside volume. There were issues with some tech stocks, and that pushed volume higher as they sold. Do not take too much solace in the fact that volume was up on Friday.

Breadth. Breadth was not bad at 3.4:1 on NASDAQ and 3.7:1 on the NYSE. Very solid with the small caps leading the move. You would expect breadth to be broad and it was. There is still the same pattern: On days when the market moves, the breadth is either strongly positive or strongly negative while volume remains equivocal at best.


CHARTS

SP500. The SP500 broke to a higher high on this move, although it really needs to get through the June peak. It is coincident with other areas of support and resistance. I am looking back to the February dip, back to the gap point from May, and then some peaks in June as well. It is in an area where there is resistance, but there will be resistance on the entire move upside because the whole area represents overhead supply. The key area is going to be the January peak range, again marked by these two white lines. That will be where we watch the next test the 200 day EMA. Then there is this range of resistance at 1,115 followed by the important January peak range.

NASDAQ. NASDAQ also made a higher high on this move after the higher low. It cleared the 200 day EMA already. Not a bad move. It, too, has to deal with the January high. It is shooting down each higher resistance as it comes up to it. It still has the major work to do where it also rallied into mid June and bumped its head hard and stumbled to a new 2010 low. With that in mind, we have to keep a close eye as NASDAQ makes the move to that point. As with the SP500, there is that reverse head and shoulders working, and it looks to be trying to break out now. Remember, there was the six month head and shoulders on both NASDAQ and the SP500 that was consummated (some said) with this breakdown in July to new 2010 lows. Then it reversed, and now the market is rallying again. How many times have you seen that happen? The moral of that story is not to put too much faith in head and shoulders patterns. Inverted head and shoulders patterns can be cool; I like them when they form after a long selloff, and that is what we are seeing now.

SP600. You can see it on SP600 as well. It broke through the 50 day EMA and through its recent peak. Similarly to the other indices, it has made a higher low and a higher high. It also still has the lion's share of its work ahead of it, as it has to deal with the March consolidation. That is also roughly where it bounced up in late May, early June, and mid June. That will be the critical level for the small caps, but they are roaring back right now, reversing a trend and rallying higher. They never did hit a lower low for 2010 in the July selloff.

SOX. Semiconductors have been a leader the entire way. The SOX is still performing well, although it was a bit disappointing on Friday. There were issues with SNDK. It was one of the market leaders to the upside that just did not produce good earnings and was being sold off. That hampered the semiconductors. Still, they have made a higher low at the 200 day EMA. They just have not made a higher high yet over the earlier July peak. There is a serious level coming up for the semiconductors as well. There is a band resistance, and it just crossed into it on Friday.


LEADERSHIP

Financial. JPM is trying to set up and break higher as well. A nice rally and a gap. It filled the gap after earnings, and it is now rallying back to the upside. Not a lot of volume yet, but it is still not bad. It put in a higher high, a higher low, and now it is trying to break to the upside. The 50 day EMA will be the next resistance. There is a bit of price resistance there, but it has plenty of room to the upside. GS is interesting; it pulled back to end the week. There were questions about the settlement it had with the SEC, but note how it tapped the 10 day EMA, and it also tapped the high from early June. It bounced up on Friday, and it is an excellent pullback. It looks primed to make a rally back up to this next resistance point which is right now coincident with the 200 day EMA. That will be serious resistance, but it is also a very nice run to that point.

Technology. AAPL was up modestly after gapping lower on Friday. It is having problems issuing the white iPhone. Apparently it yellows and needs to get the kinks worked out, but AAPL is still banging around in its range. It has not sold off, but it is just doing a range trade after a strong run, trading up and down. That is not necessarily a bad thing. If it can consolidate in a trading range while holding these gains and makes a higher low, it may break out to the upside of the range. Always watch for the higher lows at a key support level it can lead to a breakout. FFIV reported great earnings, screaming to the upside with another 4.5% gain. Even GOOG is getting in on the mix. It is trying to set up its own inverted head and shoulders and trying to break to the upside as well. AKAM looked like its goose may have been cooked, but it managed to make a higher low. Now it is making a higher high and trying to return to the upside; indeed, it broke into its uptrend line. It is back in its channel, and we will see if it can continue on in this channel as the strong get stronger. EMC had a great surge and broke out to a higher rally high. It tested that, and came right back to sit on top of that mid-June peak and then bounced higher. It does not pay in the market to take photographs.

Semiconductors. ALTR broke to a new rally closing high on Friday and is looking great. Very nice test, surging back up. XLNX was the same action. It broke to a new rally high, tested it over a week, and then Thursday and Friday it was off to the races once more. SWKS blasted off to a new rally high on excellent volume. Outstanding action.

Industrial. CAT continues to move higher, almost a 2% gain. Industrials are looking solid. CMI broke out of its triangle and is moving to a new rally high. JOYG is exploding higher. It made not only a higher low, but a higher high as well. Excellent action from industrial stocks.

Metals. Metals are also enjoying gains. AKS cleared the 50 day EMA on Thursday. It continued higher on Friday on rising average volume, putting in an almost 3.25% move. FCX is doing the same: Surging higher, making a higher high. Although volume did trail off, it is still solid trade.

Retail. GES cracked its 50 day EMA on Thursday and exploded through it on higher volume on Friday. Excellent reversal. Here is the selloff, and here is the inverted head and shoulders. The left shoulder in June, the head to start July, and the right shoulder over the past week and a half. Exploding higher Thursday and Friday. BBBY made a higher high as well off this double bottom. I do not know if I am ready to get into this one. It has a lot of gaps, and there is serious resistance from February. I would like to see it form a handle here, fade back slightly, and then start to surge. That is when I would want to move in on this one. LOW had a nice move on the week. It has a double bottom set up on its own. It is at the hump now at the double bottom. I want to see what happens. I would like to see it fade back a bit, hold right on top of the peaks in the first bottom and then make the break to the upside. That would be your buy point. TJX looks to be setting up again after looking pretty ugly a week ago. It has now double bottomed at the 200 day EMA and it is starting back to the upside. I would like to see more volume here and see how that plays out. It might turn into an interesting play.

As you can see, there are many stocks that have sold off, and there are many stocks that have formed rounded bottoms, double bottoms, or inverted head and shoulders patterns. They are starting to make the move higher as money flows back into them. A lot of these were retail stocks, metal stocks, and industrial stocks that sold off after leading the market higher. Now they have based out. They have put in those patterns and are breaking to the upside.

We have been picking them up as they have been moving. We are doing the best we can you cannot catch them all. Some of them gapped away from us, and you have to wait until they come back. That is all you can do. You can only buy so many, but you can try to get as many of the good ones as possible. We have been and enjoying the fruits of those, and actually taking gains this week on stocks we bought as they started to come out of off their lows. As the market continues higher as it looks like this Captain Ron, happy-go-lucky stumble higher is going to do we will continue to take more gain off the table.

The market indices are approaching the next resistance point. Once they get out of this range and it looks as if they are doing that right now they are going to move back up toward the January peak range. That will be the important point where it will test. If they stall there, we will be happy anyway because we will have logged great gain and will be banking it. If they stall, we will bank the gain and see what happens. If they do not, that is great. We will let our positions run and look for more upside just as we have been doing all along.

Remember, breaks higher come in waves. When stocks have time to base and move higher in this choppy manner, that gives them time to work on their patterns, develop some strength, and then break higher. We see them come out in waves, and leaders are breaking out in waves. That is why we are able to buy well into the move. We buy with caution, of course, because the move had not proved itself. It could still turn over on us, but it is making higher lows and higher highs. It keeps finding a way to move upside, even when there was bad news as there was this week. The market reacted very positively to some bad news. Of course it did get good news that gave it a good kick in the pants to the upside anyway. The fact that it was able to move on good news and then hold the line on bad news and continue higher is very positive.


THE MARKET

MARKET SENTIMENT

VIX. There were a series of lower highs from the VIX after it spiked in May during the flash crash and subsequent test lower. In June and early July, I noted that when the market made the new low in the new 2010 lows, VIX did not make new highs. I suggested at the time and I felt strongly about it that that indicated the market would have an oversold bounce and we would have to see how it performed from there. Now volatility is back down to the 200 day EMA. It held there and then bounced when the market sold off on the first test of its oversold bounce, but it rebounded. After a rebound it sold back to the 200 day EMA after this last run. Now it has not broken down even though the market has broken to a higher high.

Looking at the SP500, the high in this selloff is where volatility bounced back up. Now the market is breaking back through that high, but the volatility is still holding at the 200 day EMA. Looking back to mid June, that is when volatility hit the 200 day EMA. There was a higher high in June, and there is a lower high now. Is that suggesting this move is over? After all, there was a higher high at this same level, and here we have a lower high. Actually, I think this suggests that volatility is going to break lower and the market is going to run higher.

VIX: 23.47; -1.16
VXN: 24.16; -1.06
VXO: 23.33; -0.94

Put/Call Ratio (CBOE): 0.84; +0.02

Bulls versus Bears:

After a crossover, a tie. Two weeks back the bulls/bears reading showed a rare crossover, typically a bullish indication. The market continues to perform decently to the upside. This past week they were tied, still a bullish indication.

This is a reading of the number of bullish investment advisors versus bearish advisors. The reason you look at this is that it gives you an idea of how bullish investors are. If they are too bullish then everyone is in the market and it is heading for a top: if everyone wants to be in the market then all the money is in and there is no more new cash to drive it higher. On the other side of the spectrum if there are a lot of bears then there is a lot of cash on the sideline, and as the market rallies it drags that cash in as the bears give in. That cash provides the market the fuel to move higher. If bears are low it is the same as a lot of bulls: everyone is in and the market doesn't have the cash to drive it higher.

Bulls: 35.6%. Up from 32.6% that was a reading below the bears for that same week. Still tied with the bears and that is still a bullish indication. Down from 56.0% on this leg's high. This move started at a low of 35.6% in February, the lowest it has been since July 2009. 35% is the threshold level suggesting bullishness. After peaking at 53 on this move the bulls lost some nerve, falling to a new low post- July 2009. Once again bulls peaked out near the 50% level. Bulls have bumped at 50ish since late August 2009, falling to 45ish and then rebounding. Hit a high of 47.7% mid-June on the run from the March lows. Again, to be seriously bearish it needs to get up to the 60% to 65% level.

Bears: 35.6%. Up from 34.8% where it stayed for two weeks and for a crossover with the bulls. Solid rise from the mid to upper 20's. Fell to 18.7% on the low. Hit a high of 27.8% level on the prior leg in February. Over 35% is considered bullish for the market; definitely at the lower end of the scale. Peaked near 28% in November, falling short of the 35.6% hit in July 2009. For reference, cracking above the 35% threshold considered bullish. Hit a high on this run at 47.2%. For reference, bearishness hit a 5 year high at 54.4% the last week of October 2008. The move over 50 took bearish sentiment to its highest level since 1995. Extreme negative sentiment. Prior levels for comparison: Bearishness peaked at 37.4% in September 2007. It topped the June 2006 peak (36%) on that run. That June peak eclipsed the March 2006 high (33%) and well above the 2005 highs that spawned new rallies (30% in May 2005, 29.2% in October 2005). That was a huge turn, unlike any seen in recent history.


NASDAQ

Stats: +23.58 points (+1.05%) to close at 2269.47
Volume: 2.37B (+10.01%)

Up Volume: 1.667B (-317.642M)
Down Volume: 719.61M (+435.348M)

A/D and Hi/Lo: Advancers led 3.41 to 1
Previous Session: Advancers led 4.93 to 1

New Highs: 78 (+39)
New Lows: 40 (+1)

NASDAQ CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/NASDAQ.jpeg

NASDAQ 100 CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/NASDAQ100.jpeg

SOX CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/SOX.jpeg


SP500/NYSE

Stats: +8.99 points (+0.82%) to close at 1102.66
NYSE Volume: 1.15B (-2.26%)

Up Volume: 911.087M (-155.763M)
Down Volume: 229.759M (+122.374M)

A/D and Hi/Lo: Advancers led 3.71 to 1
Previous Session: Advancers led 5.71 to 1

New Highs: 220 (-12)
New Lows: 38 (-5)

SP500 CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/SP500.jpeg

SP600 CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/SP600.jpeg


DJ30

Stats: +102.32 points (+0.99%) to close at 10424.62
Volume DJ30: 200M shares Friday versus 171M Thursday.

DJ30 CHART: http://www.investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/DJ30.jpeg


MONDAY

There is a full week of action ahead. We will have the new home sales following the rather disappointing existing home sales. They were better than expected, so the market reacted positively, but they are still atrocious and not getting any better. There is the Case-Shiller 20-city index. It will tell us about how bad prices are. Then there will be some consumer confidence and ending out the week with Michigan Sentiment. They are at recession levels, and I do not expect them to get much better. Durable goods orders are always interesting because businesses have more money than the individuals they are just not spending it. Initial jobless claims are expected to be crappy again. GDP advance for Q2, etc. We are going to have a full slate of data in addition to more earnings.

The market is looking solid. It is making higher lows and higher highs, moving to the upside. We are also well into earnings season. We are over halfway there, and we have seen a lot of results. There have been mostly good results and some bad. The market is reacting positively to the upside. Often the stock market will react one way as earnings start, and then it has a problem after that in keeping the same move going (particularly if it is to the upside). We are having a summer rally. It does not look like it after the selloff ahead of this bounce, but we are having a rally. That typically means it will rally into August. Notice that techs do well at this time of year, but then everything slumps in September into October. I still expect to get more upside. I do not think we will necessarily have that turn back down after we get midway through earnings. There was a huge selloff moving into earnings, and now we are seeing things are not nearly as bad as the selloff would have indicated. Stocks are recovering and moving well.

Leadership is setting up and continues to move to the upside. It is coming in waves, and we have been buying those. I expect to market to continue higher. It does not mean it is clear sailing not at all. There will be choppy action. It is still in a base, going up and down. Huge moves downside, big moves upside. The result is it has not gone much of anywhere over the past two months, but that is part of the basing process.

What I expect is a rally up to this January peak (or somewhere in the range of January). Then I expect more basing activity. That would break it out of this inverted head and shoulders, it would rally, and then it would most likely test that breakout. That is normal. People will freak out at that point, but we will take gain at that point as it hits that level and stalls out. That is our plan. There are initial targets that we will keep and honor as the stock market moves higher. We bank money along the way, and we are never crushed when it turns or starts to head back down. I expect it to test after it gets to this level, and we will have to reevaluate at that point. Has the data changed? Are there any warnings? What is going on generally in the world? If it comes back and tests normally, a pullback to the 200 day EMA would make a lot of sense. It bounces up to this level in January, sells back to the 200 day EMA, makes another higher low after a higher high, and then it breaks out over a key level. That is what I anticipate will happen. That is, if we continue to get the same kind of news out of the EU and get decent economic data in the US.

There is a belief now that China may be able to engineer something of a soft landing. I will believe it when I see it. India is still strong and Brazil remains strong. There are the other companies of the BRIC that are able to keep things moving. Thus we are seeing those stocks such as CAT and its industrial brethren doing better. The commodities stocks metals, lumber, etc. that you need to build things, they are moving up again. They were the leaders in 2007-2009, and they had a hard time after the world came tumbling down. They were the ones moving up crazily, and now they have come crashing down. They have had their test and are moving back up now that things appear to be recovering and are not as bad as many had feared. LIBOR has turned down to 0.49%. It was up to 0.55%, and it has been steadily ticking down over the past couple of weeks.

There is a much better outlook of things to come, thus I anticipate the market will continue to try to build back to the upside. But it is never a straight line. After this rally to a new higher high, we may get softness to start the week. That is okay because there are positions that we were unable to get into that I would like a shot at. If they pull back a bit, we can get into them. I will be looking for others as well while they make the move to the upside and towards this January peak. That will be the next critical point. If we get there, we will have bank made and we will be banking a lot of gain on the positions we have been taking ever since the market made this reversal off of the lower low for 2010. That is the old false breakdown. We were ready for it, and we started moving in as it made the move up and have been reaping some nice reward on the way back up. We will continue to do that as it moves up toward the January peak. Have an excellent weekend.


Support and Resistance

NASDAQ: Closed at 2,245.89

Resistance:
2245 from July 2008 through 2260 from late 2005.
The 200 day SMA at 2259
2275 - 2278 from the February 2008 and April 2008 lows
2273 to 2282 marks bottom of January 2010 lateral peak
2292 is a low from January 2008
2319 from the September 2008 peak
2320 to 2326.28 is the January 2010 high
2324-2370 is a range of resistance from early 2008
2382-2395 from 2008

Support:
The 50 day EMA at 2242
2221 is the gap down upside point from June.
2205 is the November 2009 peak 2210 (from September 2008) to 2212 (the July 2009 closing low)
2185 to 2195 represent support points for years: December 2004 peak, July to October 2005 consolidation, January, March and July 2008 lows, and October 2009 peak.
2184 is the June gap bottom side.
2177 is a low from March 2008
2169 is the March 2008 closing low (double bottom)
2168 is the September 2009, intraday peak
2167 from the July 2008 intraday low
2155 is the March 2008 intraday low
2100 is the February 2010 low
2024 from November 2009
2020 to 2005 from the Q4 2009 peaks


S&P 500: Closed at 1102.66
Resistance:
1106 is the September 2008 low
The 200 day SMA at 1113
1114 is the November 2009 peak
1119 is the early December intraday high
Bottom of the January 2010 consolidation 1131 to 1136
1133 from a September 2008 intraday low
1151 is the January 2010 peak
1156 is the Sept 2008 low
1170 is the prior March 2010 high
1174 is the May 2010 high
1181 is the April selloff low
1185 from late September 2008

Support:

1101 is the October 2009 high and the recent May and June 2010 interim peaks
The 50 day EMA at 1091
1084 to 1080 (September 2009 peak)
1078 is the October range low
1070 is the late September 2009 peak as well as several other peaks and valleys even in 2010
1044 is the October 2008 intraday high AND the February 2010 low
1040 is the May 2010 low
1020 is the bottom of the late summer 2009 consolidation
946 from June 2009


Dow: Closed at 10,424.64
Resistance:
10,365 is the late September 2008 low
The 200 day SMA at 10,395
10,496 is the November 2009 high
10,594 is the June 2010 peak
10,609 from the Mid-September 2008 interim low
10,730 is the January 2010 peak
10,920 is the recent May high
10,963 is the July 2008 low
11,100 from the 7-08 low
11,205 is the April closing high
11,734 from 11-98 peak

Support:
10,285 is the late December consolidation peak
The 50 day EMA at 10,262
10,260 from the May and June 2010 interim peaks
10,120 is the October 2009 peak
9829 is the September 2008 closing high
9918 is the September 2008 peak
9855 is the early September peak in its lateral range
9835 is the late September 2009 peak AND the February 2010 low
9774 is the May 2010 intraday low
9325 is a late 2008 interim peak
9034 from early 2009 peaks


Economic Calendar

These are consensus expectations. Our expectations will vary and are discussed in the 'Economy' section.

July 19 - Monday
National Homebuilder, July (10:00): 14 actual versus 16 prior (revised from 17)

July 20 - Tuesday
Building Permits, June (08:30): 586K actual versus 572K expected, 574K prior
Housing Starts, June (08:30): 549K actual versus 575K expected, 578K prior (revised from 593K)

July 21 - Wednesday
Crude Inventories, 07/17 (10:30): 0.360M actual versus -5.06M prior

July 22 - Thursday
Initial Claims, 07/17 (08:30): 464K actual versus 445K expected, 427K prior (revised from 429K)
Continuing Claims, 07/10 (08:30): 4487K actual versus 4600K expected, 4710K prior (revised from 4681K)
Existing Home Sales, June (10:00): 5.37M actual versus 5.09M expected, 5.66M prior
Leading Indicators, June (10:00): -0.4% expected, 0.4% prior

July 26 - Monday
New Home Sales, June (10:00): 310K expected, 300K prior

July 27 - Tuesday
Case-Shiller 20-city, May (09:00): 4.0% expected, 3.81% prior
Consumer Confidence, July (10:00): 51.0 expected, 52.9 prior

July 28 - Wednesday
Durable Orders, June (08:30): 1.0% expected, -0.6% prior
Durable Orders ex Tr, June (08:30): 0.5% expected, 1.6% prior
Crude Inventories, 07/24 (10:30): 0.360M prior

July 29 - Thursday
Initial Claims, 07/24 (08:30): 464K expected, 464K prior
Continuing Claims, 07/17 (08:30): 4550K expected, 4487K prior

July 30 - Friday
GDP-Adv., Q2 (08:30): 2.5% expected, 2.7% prior
Chain Deflator-Adv., Q2 (08:30): 1.1% expected, 1.1% prior
Employment Cost Index, Q2 (08:30): 0.5% expected, 0.6% prior
Chicago PMI, July (09:45): 56.5 expected, 59.1 prior
University Michigan Sentiment, July (09:55): 67.5 expected, 66.5 prior

By: Jon Johnson, Editor
Copyright 2010 | All Rights Reserved

Jon Johnson is the Editor of The Daily at InvestmentHouse.com

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Sunday, July 18, 2010

Indices Threaten a New Rollover

SUMMARY:
- More downer economic data, weaker earnings guidance, expiration Friday combine to push stocks sharply lower.
- Old fashioned tail kicking, but there are relative strength leaders.
- Big dive lower but indices can still shape up. Seeking a silver lining too hard?
- Sharp drop in Michigan sentiment caps a week of economic lowlights.
- ECRI indicators on the cusp of a renewed recession.
- Money cannot buy you love, and it cannot buy you jobs and economic prosperity: just ask the Soviet Union.
- Indices threaten a new rollover but watching the bottom of the range for signs of life given the negativity.

Expiration Friday springs a sharp selloff.

Friday showed how fast a rebound can be dashed. About as quickly as a crash on the decent down the Alps in the Tour de France. That was the case on Friday with large 3% losses by the indices. It was expiration Friday, and there were a lot of other themes ongoing. I cannot put much credence into this other than the fact that in July on expiration, the session is often down. Expiration was at play as volume bumped above average on the NYSE. There were some worries with respect to the economy; there has been weaker economic data this week and fears last week that the US economy was slowing. That was playing a hand. Earnings were out, and the guidance was not there.

GOOG set the pace for the session with worries about whether it could keep its margins going. It would be a rocky start, and it did not get better as the session unfolded. Looking at the intraday chart on the SP500, it was ugly. It started lower with a gap and sold off sharply. It gapped again half an hour into the session when the Michigan Sentiment came out much less than expected at 66.5. It bounced, but it was barely a bounce. Then it tumbled over and sold all day into the close. It was a very down, lopsided session. There was no breath to come up for air at any point, and that had the gloom racing high on all the financial stations. Indeed, even with the gains, the gloom has been high all week on the financial stations due to concerns about a double dip. It is definitely a possibility. It is something I talked about in March and April as the likely scenario when we got to mid to late summer. Looks like that is unfortunately coming to fruition.

The intraday chart on the SP500 looks like a profile of a decent on the Alps. There was a swift decent, and then there was a recovery attempt. Then came a collapse. There was a gap lower that took it through the prior low for the morning. Once that occurred, there was never an attempt to even come back and test that area. Today's hopes for a tour victory were over.

The losses were impressive. -3% NASDAQ, -2.5 Dow, -2.9% SP500, -3.3% SOX, -3.61% SP600, and -2.8% NASDAQ 100. It was an equal-opportunity selloff on Friday something that we tend to call an old-fashioned butt kicking around here.


OTHER MARKETS.

The other markets held the course they had taken during the week, although the Friday action changed the table on a few somewhat.

Dollar. The DXY0 managed to post an ever-so-slight gain against the Euro (1.2927 Euros versus 1.2928 Thursday). Hardly a difference. I am looking at the break of the trendline coming out of 2009. It may come up and kiss that trendline, but I think it will have to come down and test the solid support range from the February-April consolidation. That will be the key test for the dollar. For now, with the US economy in trouble, it doesn't look like there are many foreign investors putting money into the greenback right now. A far cry from where it was in April and May when the EU was in flames and all the money was seeking dollars. My, how quickly the tables have turned. Hopes can be dashed very quickly.

http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/dxy0.jpeg


Bonds. Bonds continued to the upside. Economic fears caused money to flee equities and move into debt instruments. The 10 year rose in the US once more after moving well over 3% on the week (2.93% versus 2.99% Thursday). It was quite the reversal and something we saw when the bonds came down to the trendline and bounced. We moved in with our own positions on the TLT when that occurred, playing this bounce. We will see how far it can take us. With the US economic data turning sour, it could definitely hit a new high on this rally.

There is a lot of talk about the yield curve right now, and how it is showing no chance of recession because the 2 year rate hit an all-time low. Well, of course it hit an all-time low; the Fed is artificially holding the short end down. It could not rise if it wanted to because the Fed has it pegged lower and will not allow it to move up. If it does so, it would ruin all of its monetary policy plans. The 2 year hit a record low at 0.58% on Friday. With the 10 year at 2.99%, obviously the yield curve slopes from low to high. It is upwardly sloping, just the way it should in a healthy economy.

Since the curve is not inverted, that causes some people to say we can't have a recession. I will talk more about this in the economic section, but that is bogus. If the government is holding rates at a certain level and won't let them move, then you will not get the inverted curve. Mind you, a lot of inverted curves occur before the Fed ever takes any action in the market. The Fed comes into play later when it tries to take control of interest rates, and that is when things start to invert. Sometimes it happens before and sometimes after, but normally it doesn't happen as we have seen it here. It is impossible because the Fed has been in such heavy play in the bond market for years now. The problem is it never would have had a chance to naturally invert as things worsened the second time around because the Fed was already in the market. That may not be totally clear, but if the Fed is holding its foot on the rates, it will not let the short end run higher as typically happens in a recession. People start valuing short-term money more than long-term money because they see things down the road as worse off. Long-term money is in less demand than near-term cash. That causes the short end to rise, the long end to dip, and the yield curve to invert. That is what is not happening now because of the Fed standing on top of the short end of the curve.

http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/tlt.jpeg


Gold. Gold dove lower from its 2009 peak. That is a move I thought would happen. Unfortunately the GLD gapped lower and sharply so, and it kept us from any ability to move into that play. I was kicking myself for not moving into it Wednesday or Thursday when it was toying with the move. Now there was gap down, but it has had that gap, so we may get a bit of a test higher toward these lows from Wednesday and Thursday next week. If we get that and it fails there, that will give a good entry point. I never totally despair when a stock or index gaps away because typically you get a second chance to move in on the test. You have to anticipate it and be ready for the move; when it makes it, you move in as well. Nonetheless, gold had a rough session ($1,193.10, -15.20). It was a significant loss again for gold as it looks like it has now made a lower high. That would be something of a head and shoulders with a wimpy right shoulder. When you have the wimpy shoulder, you can bet we will get a move down that that next peak. I am looking for a move roughly down to 1160 and maybe the 200 day EMA which is rising up and coincident with that support at 1140. The 200 day EMA is coincident with the March and January peaks. Looking for a move down into that range, and it is not a great prospect. Why is gold falling with all the money printed out there? Right now deflation concerns are outweighing inflation concerns as seen in the CPI on Friday that fell 0.1% overall.

http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/xgld.jpeg


Oil. The dollar was flat, but oil was still down. It did not lose much ground, however ($75.92, -0.70). It is still below the 200 day EMA, still below the up trendline, but it is also right in the middle of its trading range. It is showing a lot of tenacity. It may turn over and fall if the economic outlook continues to sour. Then there is no reason for oil to rise near term because the perception will be that is there less need for oil. It is keeping prices a bit lower for the consumer going into the summer, and that is fine. If it stalls here and moves laterally, I do not think anyone is going to complain a lot because it is mid range. It is not hampering gasoline prices in any way. I think it is a comfort range right now for the US economy and, indeed, the world economy.

http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/xoil.jpeg


TECHNICAL PICTURE

INTERNALS

Volume. The volume was up 2.1B on NASDAQ, and that is not huge trade. It puts it near average, but it is not near where it was on Tuesday when the market gapped higher. On the NYSE it was up 33% to 1.5B, and that was more of a move. It pushed it just above average as the SP500, and the NYSE composite fell sharply to the downside. There was distribution ongoing, but you have to take expiration into account. There was a bounce, and there was a lot of jockeying of positions to take into account that bounce at expiration.

Breadth. -7:1 on NASDAQ, and -3.6:1 on the NYSE. Small caps and large caps were all moving down together, and that leads to a very broad, negative move. No one really wanted to own stocks. There had been a bounce in the market, it was expiration, and they were rolling and unloading positions. That caused a lot of negative action.


CHARTS

SP500. The SP500 was a pretty sharp decline. It fell quickly and sharply down to the 1070 area. It tried to hold that early in the session, but it gave way and fell lower. Now it is at the May 6th flash-crash low. Still above the late May/early June low as well as the February low. We will see how it holds at this point. The bounce is definitely in trouble here. It was an easy lateral consolidation, but it is definitely in trouble and looking for more downside. We will have to see how much influence expiration had on the action versus being worn out on the bounce and ready to collapse. I think it may have been more of the former than the latter, and thus we could get a bit of a rebound next week. The July expiration is often down, and the Monday following the July expiration is often down. We may get more selling that takes it down to the May and June lows that would be the February low as well. If that is the case, it could be in serious trouble. It also could set up something of a reverse head and shoulders, which is something often seen at a decent bottom. We will have to watch for that, too. Just because there was a move down does not mean you have to throw everything overboard and don the sackcloth and ashes and beat your chest. It is not necessarily the case when you factor in an expiration Friday. Not a good move, mind you, but not all is lost.

NASDAQ. The NASDAQ showed similar action. It tried to hold early at the upper gap point from June, but that gave way and it closed at the lower gap point. It is not that bad of action. It is not great that it fell 3.1% on a bit of a bump in volume, but it was not cracking below the May and June levels. I am trying to find a silver lining here. It was an ugly session, but it is still in the range of late, however. Again expiration Friday influenced what was happening, so I am not going to get too bent out of shape over this one move. Although we were being cautious and closing some of our upside positions that were struggling. I wish we could have gotten into more downside because that gap lower took a lot of them off the table before we could get snuggled up to them. Fortunately we already have some in hand that we are riding lower.

SP600. The small caps had a disgustingly ugly session, dropping 3.6%. They did break down to the early June low. As a matter of fact, they made a closing low below that level, and that puts it also below the March consolidation. It is not looking good for the small caps, and they are the economic harbinger for the economy I said it yesterday, and I said it again. Sorry, but I had to. Nonetheless, it is in trouble, and with the economic data coming out this week, you can understand why. We will have to see if they can catch support and form that inverse head and shoulders of their own. It would not been the cleanest pattern, but we will see. You have to see how the bounce goes at this point and how this test-turned-butt-kicking of a bounce plays out.

SOX. Semiconductors were a star of the week actually for the past few weeks helping to hold the market up with a hold at long-term support and the nice bounce. They made it up to key resistance and have rolled down, but they are also still in the middle of their range and above the 200 day EMA. Not in any real trouble, but not in any great shakes. Could be just a test back down to the bottom of the range. I think that will be the true tell for all of the indices: when they get down to these prior lows and whether they hold or not. We got rid of some of our upside semiconductor plays just to preserve some gain after taking some off the table earlier in the week. Just being prudent. If it comes back down, we will see if we can play some of these puppies again.


LEADERSHIP

Financial. GS gapped higher on the announcement of the settlement with the SEC, and then it came back basically to flat. It put in about 0.5% gain, and that was the story of the day. It had good news, but even it could not hold up to the onslaught of selling. JPM had a great week. It announced good earnings. It has come back and has filled the gap, and I still like it. Lower volume, and it needs to hold in this key area.

Industrial. Industrials showed relative strength even though they were down. CAT was down, but it was holding the 18 day EMA. Still a nice pattern. It could even slide back down to the 50 day EMA and be in good shape to move back to the upside. Good relative strength. JOYG had the same thing: It was down but showing good relative strength. We will see if it can hold at this trendline test and pop back up.

Semiconductors.

Technology. Some of the same, some not. AAPL had a good day overall. It is still trading in its range. Steve Jobs offered a side cover for the iPhone 4 as the fix. I admire Jobs, but I did not like his "apology." He just said others have the same problems they do. He said they have seen Youtube videos of Nokia phones dropping calls, too. Not a great excuse, but the misstep did not seem to hurt it on the session. It probably will not hurt it long term because they keep coming out with great products. If they keep making mistakes, that will be a problem, but everyone is willing to overlook this. GOOG gapped sharply lower and the margins were not as expected. They are spending a lot of money on Android and other things. They are hiring people to do other things that are not making money for them right now, and the margins compress. That's what happens. Everyone will be cheering them on when they hit a home run on one or two of these things, but that was not the case on Friday. They were selling them off. FFIV was down, but not a lot. It is coming back down toward the mid-June peaks. We will see if it holds in that range and can start back to the upside. Still showing excellent relative strength.

Energy. BP was down a bit. It may have had its move. All the good news was anticipated over the past week. It got the cap on, it is holding, but the pressures are not as high as hoped. There may be an issue there. Maybe it has seen its run, or it may get a pullback to test that gap. If it does, that may be an entry opportunity. If good news resurfaces, it will move back up and resurface itself. APC was off today as well. Energy did not have a great day. HAL pulled back, but it had a nice day. It fell back and I was looking at it as a downside play, but it is all of a sudden shaping up as a much better upside play with this gap and run higher. A very orderly, sedate pullback. A bit of a reverse head and shoulders here, a breakout, and a test. After the selloff, we might get a run up toward 33 or so. That would be a decent move indeed.

Retail. PNRA was in trouble today, and we moved out of our positions as a precaution. It sold off sharply from the 50 day EMA even though volume was low. I did not want to hang around and see what would happen. ANN is struggling big time. It broke the 200 day EMA, kissed it, and it is turning back down. A bit of rising volume. Not great action, but it is not uniform across the retail sector. Other areas are doing just fine, like PCLN and NFLX.

Market Leaders. There is a group of leaders I am watching: SNDK, CMG, NFLX, PCLN, FFIV, and AAPL. Some of those are holding up and some are breaking down. It is somewhat representative of the market. As I said, SNDK was breaking lower and not looking good. We moved out of it on Friday. We moved out of CMG a while back when it started to break its trendline. I was looking for it to move back up. It started to, but it did the old kiss-the-trendline move last week, and it is heading lower on high volume. NFLX is still holding up well, although it is making a lower high. That is something to watch, but it is relatively in excellent shape. PCLN went up and up last week. FFIV is holding up quite well. AKAM may be in trouble. It has moved up similarly to NFLX, and now it has turned down just below the 78% Fibonacci retracement of this selling. It may come down, bounce, and hit the 78 again. If it hits the 78 again and double tops at that level, I would definitely be playing it to the downside because that is often the precursor to a more serious downside move.

Leadership is having some trouble. It is breaking apart somewhat, and maybe new leaders are coming to the fore. I am watching for those. There are stocks making good moves, but we have to see if they have the staying power that this cadre had as the market rallied from February into June and July. These stocks performed well all the way through that market selling, but now they are running out of gas a bit as the market's rug is pulled out from under them with this double dip possibility.


THE ECONOMY

Michigan sentiment caps a week of bad data.

ECRI on the verge of a recession forecast.

Spend your way to prosperity? We tried it and put the 'great' in the Great Depression. The USSR tried it and collapsed.

TO VIEW THE ECONOMY VIDEO CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK:

http://investmenthouse1.com/ihmedia/Economy.wmv



THE MARKET

MARKET SENTIMENT

VIX. Once again the VIX held the 200 day EMA on the low and bounced as the market sold off toward the end of the week. Actually it did not sell off until Friday. There was a creep higher as the market moved laterally on Wednesday and Thursday. Then on the Friday selloff, it did rise up 4.4%. That was well off its high and hardly a great move by volatility. Volatility is once again not associating 1:1 with the index action. That is because there was a fairly sharp selloff on the SP500 that took away over one third of the gains off the lows, but the VIX did not show an equivalent move. It is very sluggish, and is not ballooning higher despite all of the gloom on the financial stations, in the AAII investor surveys, and in the sentiment survey for the investment advisors. They are all extremely negative, and the VIX is not showing that same level of fear. That helped bring the market back up. Even though it hit a new low, VIX did not hit a new high, and that was one of the factors predicating the bounce. After a pullback on Friday that may have been very expiration related in itself given that the VIX is hardly moving higher we may see a bounce back and see VIX fall right back down to the 200 day EMA.

VIX: 26.25; +1.11
VXN: 26.87; +0.3
VXO: 26.49; +1.65

Put/Call Ratio (CBOE): 1.1; +0.22

Bulls versus Bears:

CROSSOVER. Rare and typically quite bullish, the number of bullish investment advisors fell below the number of bearish advisors. As noted, this is typically quite bullish.

This is a reading of the number of bullish investment advisors versus bearish advisors. The reason you look at this is that it gives you an idea of how bullish investors are. If they are too bullish then everyone is in the market and it is heading for a top: if everyone wants to be in the market then all the money is in and there is no more new cash to drive it higher. On the other side of the spectrum if there are a lot of bears then there is a lot of cash on the sideline, and as the market rallies it drags that cash in as the bears give in. That cash provides the market the fuel to move higher. If bears are low it is the same as a lot of bulls: everyone is in and the market doesn't have the cash to drive it higher.

Bulls: 32.6%. Down from 37.0% and below the 35% threshold, below which is considered bullish. Down from 56.0% on this leg's high. This move started at a low of 35.6% in February, the lowest it has been since July 2009. 35% is the threshold level suggesting bullishness. After peaking at 53 on this move the bulls lost some nerve, falling to a new low post- July 2009. Once again bulls peaked out near the 50% level. Bulls have bumped at 50ish since late August 2009, falling to 45ish and then rebounding. Hit a high of 47.7% mid-June on the run from the March lows. Again, to be seriously bearish it needs to get up to the 60% to 65% level.

Bears: 34.8% for the second straight week, and though still below the 35% threshold, with the drop in bulls the 'crossover' has occurred. Those crossovers are very bullish, and we didn't think it would happen given the market bounce. Wrong. Solid rise from the mid to upper 20's. Fell to 18.7% on the low. Hit a high of 27.8% level on the prior leg in February. Over 35% is considered bullish for the market; definitely at the lower end of the scale. Peaked near 28% in November, falling short of the 35.6% hit in July 2009. For reference, cracking above the 35% threshold considered bullish. Hit a high on this run at 47.2%. For reference, bearishness hit a 5 year high at 54.4% the last week of October 2008. The move over 50 took bearish sentiment to its highest level since 1995. Extreme negative sentiment. Prior levels for comparison: Bearishness peaked at 37.4% in September 2007. It topped the June 2006 peak (36%) on that run. That June peak eclipsed the March 2006 high (33%) and well above the 2005 highs that spawned new rallies (30% in May 2005, 29.2% in October 2005). That was a huge turn, unlike any seen in recent history.


NASDAQ

Stats: -70.03 points (-3.11%) to close at 2179.05
Volume: 2.123B (+9.75%)

Up Volume: 143.553M (-919.704M)
Down Volume: 2.016B (+1.15B)

A/D and Hi/Lo: Decliners led 7.05 to 1
Previous Session: Decliners led 1.98 to 1

New Highs: 16 (-6)
New Lows: 73 (+42)

NASDAQ CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/NASDAQ.jpeg

NASDAQ 100 CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/NASDAQ100.jpeg

SOX CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/SOX.jpeg


SP500/NYSE

Stats: -31.6 points (-2.88%) to close at 1064.88
NYSE Volume: 1.49B (+33.47%)

Up Volume: 69.956M (-467.054M)
Down Volume: 1.42B (+862.643M)

A/D and Hi/Lo: Decliners led 3.58 to 1
Previous Session: Advancers led 1.03 to 1

New Highs: 130 (-16)
New Lows: 53 (+15)

SP500 CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/SP500.jpeg

SP600 CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/SP600.jpeg


DJ30

Stats: -261.41 points (-2.52%) to close at 10097.9
Volume DJ30: 335M shares on expiration Friday versus 210M shares Thursday.

DJ30 CHART: http://www.investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/DJ30.jpeg


MONDAY

There is economic data out, but it is not heavy. Building permits and housing starts on Tuesday are important. Thursday there will be jobless claims and existing home sales followed by leading indicators. Leading indicators are important, but they don't really tell the story. Earnings will be one of the major drivers next week because we are going into the teeth of earnings season. Some of the early results pleased the markets, but then they did not on the back half of the week. INTC had a great earnings report, but it was unable to sate the market's appetite for stronger and stronger economic reports. INTC is not in bad shape to start next week.

The question is whether the rest of the market going to make the turn back up. There was a selloff on Friday across the board. It was also expiration Friday, and that had something to do with it. As noted earlier, July expiration Fridays tend to be down as are the Mondays in July following the expiration. We may get more downside. Indeed, with the momentum, it would not be difficult to see these indices come down and test the May and June lows. That is not necessarily a bad thing for the upside because they could make another hold there, another low, and form a reverse head and shoulders. That is a pattern you often see at the bottom of a selloff in what could be a cut base. Not necessarily a negative; this is all part of the attempt to base.

Some are obviously calling it a top and a precursor to a new low on the indices. That could be the case, but I don't know at this juncture. All we know is that the market is still relatively weak and still going through the basing process. If you look at all the indices, you will see a lot of the same picture: SP500, NASDAQ, and of course the semiconductors index is still banging around in its trading range. Just another normal week at the office for the SOX. SP600 is a bit of a concern because it is already close to its early June low. It would have to hold in this area and turn back up if it is going to establish its inverted head and shoulders. We will see how this plays out.

What we were doing on Friday was protecting the upside positions. We closed out those that were struggling. The relative strength leaders and others that are holding support we left alone. I will not hesitate to move out of those if we have to. What I would like to do is get another opportunity to move into some downside positions, but they all gapped away from us on Friday. There was a nice lateral move, and we could have loaded up to the downside. We took some downside positions, but not enough as it turned out. We had the SPY and others, but in hindsight I wish we would have loaded up. We did get good representations. We also made good money to the upside, so I am not going to complain about that. We will just protect those upside positions if there is further weakness and be ready to move in the downside if we get a bounce or an opportunity.

Opportunity comes even after gaps, whether upside or downside. You can't give up on positions. I will keep watching the ones we are dropping. We have moved the buy point on others just to account for a change and a rebound and test that fails. We may not get in at the exact moment we wanted to. We may have to get in a bit lower to the downside if it is going to turn back over, but that is okay. We can still make good money off those plays; a test is one of my favorite times to enter in any event.

The market is weak. It has been weak for the past two and a half months, and we are seeing how it plays out. It may be a basing situation where it moves laterally and completes a bottoming pattern that rallies back up in something of a cup (as we are seeing in many of the stocks in the market). How many of these stocks have we seen moving down laterally for the last month and a half, forming a rounded bottom, and ready to start back to the upside. We will see if that action continues. If it does not and breaks to a new low, then it breaks to a new low. They will start the basing process all over again. We will have to take what the market gives us, and we have been doing that all along. That's what we did on this bounce higher, and we made good money off of it. If it can't stick, we will close out the rest of the upside at least the upside that is struggling and look for that opportunity to move into the downside while we let our current downside positions run. That could score us nice gains over the next couple of weeks if this move on Friday signals the end of the oversold bounce.

Not a glowing prognosis, but that is the market we have. It is not overly negative or overly positive. It is just trying to chop through a base. As always, you have to approach it a bit unemotionally, and just take what the market gives. Have an outstanding weekend, and I will see you next week while we see what this pullback turns into.


Support and Resistance

NASDAQ: Closed at 2179.05

Resistance:
2184 is the June gap bottom side.
2185 to 2195 represent support points for years: December 2004 peak, July to October 2005 consolidation, January, March and July 2008 lows, and October 2009 peak.
2205 is the November 2009 peak 2210 (from September 2008) to 2212 (the July 2009 closing low)
2221 is the gap down upside point from June.
2245 from July 2008 through 2260 from late 2005.
The 50 day EMA at 2246
The 200 day SMA at 2256
2275 - 2278 from the February 2008 and April 2008 lows
2273 to 2282 marks bottom of January 2010 lateral peak
2292 is a low from January 2008
2319 from the September 2008 peak
2320 to 2326.28 is the January 2010 high
2324-2370 is a range of resistance from early 2008
2382-2395 from 2008

Support:
2177 is a low from March 2008
2169 is the March 2008 closing low (double bottom)
2168 is the September 2009, intraday peak
2167 from the July 2008 intraday low
2155 is the March 2008 intraday low
2100 is the February 2010 low
2024 from November 2009
2020 to 2005 from the Q4 2009 peaks


S&P 500: Closed at 1064.88
Resistance:
1070 is the late September 2009 peak as well as several other peaks and valleys even in 2010
1078 is the October range low
1084 to 1080 (September 2009 peak)
The 50 day EMA at 1093
1101 is the October 2009 high and the recent May and June 2010 interim peaks
1106 is the September 2008 low
The 200 day SMA at 1112
1114 is the November 2009 peak
1119 is the early December intraday high
Bottom of the January 2010 consolidation 1131 to 1136
1133 from a September 2008 intraday low
1151 is the January 2010 peak
1156 is the Sept 2008 low
1170 is the prior March 2010 high
1174 is the May 2010 high
1181 is the April selloff low
1185 from late September 2008

Support:

1044 is the October 2008 intraday high AND the February 2010 low
1040 is the May 2010 low
1020 is the bottom of the late summer 2009 consolidation
946 from June 2009


Dow: Closed at 10,097.90
Resistance:
10,120 is the October 2009 peak
10,260 from the May and June 2010 interim peaks
The 50 day EMA at 10,264
10,285 is the late December consolidation peak
10,365 is the late September 2008 low
The 200 day SMA at 10,379
10,496 is the November 2009 high
10,594 is the June 2010 peak
10,609 from the Mid-September 2008 interim low
10,730 is the January 2010 peak
10,920 is the recent May high
10,963 is the July 2008 low
11,100 from the 7-08 low
11,205 is the April closing high
11,734 from 11-98 peak

Support:
9829 is the September 2008 closing high
9918 is the September 2008 peak
9855 is the early September peak in its lateral range
9835 is the late September 2009 peak AND the February 2010 low
9774 is the May 2010 intraday low
9325 is a late 2008 interim peak
9034 from early 2009 peaks


Economic Calendar

These are consensus expectations. Our expectations will vary and are discussed in the 'Economy' section.

July 13 - Tuesday
Trade Balance, May (08:30): -$42.3B actual versus -$39.4B expected, -$40.3B prior
Treasury Budget, June (14:00): -$68.4B actual versus -$70.0B expected, -$94.3B prior

July 14 - Wednesday
Retail Sales, June (08:30): -0.5% actual versus -0.2% expected, -1.1% prior (revised from -1.2%)
Retail Sales ex-auto, June (08:30): -0.1% actual versus 0.0% expected, -1.2% prior (revised from -1.1%)
Export Prices ex-ag., June (08:30): -0.2% actual versus 0.5% prior (revised from 0.6%)
Import Prices ex-oil, June (08:30): -0.6% actual versus 0.5% prior
Business Inventories, May (10:00): 0.1% actual versus 0.2% expected, 0.4% prior
Crude Inventories, 07/10 (10:30): -5.06M actual versus -4.96M prior
Minutes of FOMC Meeting (14:00)

July 15 - Thursday
Initial Jobless Claims, 07/10 (08:30): 429K actual versus 450K expected, 458K prior (revised from 454K)
Continuing Claims, 07/03 (08:30): 4681K actual versus 4400K expected, 4434K prior (revised from 4413K)
PPI, June (08:30): -0.5% actual versus -0.1% expected, -0.3% prior
Core PPI, June (08:30): 0.1% actual versus 0.1% expected, 0.2% prior
NY Fed - Empire Manufacturing, July (08:30): 5.08 actual versus 18.0 expected, 19.57 prior
Industrial Production, June (09:15): 0.1% actual versus 0.0% expected, 1.3% prior
Capacity Utilization, June (09:15): 74.1% actual versus 74.2 expected, 74.1% prior
Philadelphia Fed, July (10:00): 5.1 actual versus 10.1 expected, 8.0 prior

July 16 - Friday
Core CPI, June (08:30): 0.2% actual versus 0.1% expected, 0.1% prior
CPI, June (08:30): -0.1% actual versus -0.1% expected, -0.2% prior
Net Long-Term TIC Fl, May (09:00): $35.4B actual versus $81.5B prior (revised from $83.0B)
Michigan Sentiment - Pre, July (09:55): 66.5 actual versus 74.5 expected, 76.0 prior

July 19 - Monday
National Homebuilder, July (10:00): 17 prior

July 20 - Tuesday
Building Permits, June (08:30): 575K expected, 574K prior
Housing Starts, June (08:30): 570K expected, 593K prior

July 21 - Wednesday
Crude Inventories, 07/17 (10:30): -5.06M prior

July 22 - Thursday
Initial Claims, 07/17 (08:30): 445K expected, 429K prior
Continuing Claims, 07/10 (08:30): 4600K expected, 4681K prior
Existing Home Sales, June (10:00): 5.04M expected, 5.66M prior
Leading Indicators, June (10:00): -0.4% expected

By: Jon Johnson, Editor
Copyright 2010 | All Rights Reserved

Jon Johnson is the Editor of The Daily at InvestmentHouse.com

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Sunday, July 11, 2010

Stocks Continue Their Oversold Bounce

SUMMARY:
- Stocks continue their oversold bounce, goosed by shorts concerned earnings may be stronger than originally anticipated.
- Interest rate hikes around the world boost investor interest in equities.
- Dollar, bonds behave as if rest of the world is starting to recover following that May scare the EU was imploding.
- Expiration, expiration, oversold bounce ready to drive stocks a bit higher this week.

Stocks push on, moving through their first test of the oversold bounce.

Stocks performed as expected on Friday. They continued their oversold bounce that really got under way on Wednesday with the big move, and coasted into the weekend with a decent gain Friday. Nothing huge, but a continuation of the rebound that started with the breakdown below the 2010 lows followed by the reversal. It was a false breakdown, and I love playing these. It reversed back to the upside and accelerated as it made the break on Wednesday. There could be many reasons for that. There was a view that some of the economies in the world were either improving or not as bad as originally felt in Q1 and Q2. That helped stocks tremendously starting midweek. There are also earnings next week starting in earnest. With such a large selloff on fears that the EU and US economies were stalling somewhat, there was the view that they may not be as bad as originally anticipated. We might get good results and good guidance for the future, and thus the shorts were nervous and covering. That helped the oversold bounce with a bit of juice from the possibility that earnings could be much better than expected.

I am not anticipating that earnings will be great, but I was anticipating the move higher. We were taking nice positions on the way up. As the market continues, we will let those plays continue to run. I am looking for a move back up toward the June peak, or the 200 day EMA if it can't make the June peak. You have to watch when you get in this range to see how much gas is in the tank. If there is a run up through expiration next Friday, that will give nice gain built into the positions we have been taking. We will be taking some of that gain off the table because I do not believe this is any major turn in the market. I still think there is plenty of basing that has to take place. I think the market is trying to base now, and to do so it would need to break up the six-month head and shoulders pattern. I think it is trying to do that, and I will be watching for it. If you get this kind of oversold bounce, you will get range trading back and forth. I am looking to play it up and down as it continues that move. Right now we are obviously in an upswing. I'll look for more to lock in some more profit, and after that we will have to see what happens. As of Friday the momentum to the upside remained. It was not frustrating investors yet, stocks continues to move upside, and many showed good momentum.

There was not a lot of news in the world on Friday, but the news that was there helped stocks. There were some countries raising interest rates, and that gave credence that to idea that the world economies were not as in bad of shape as originally thought. Stocks started higher on the session, they tested, and then they gradually melted up through the rest of the day. There was a last hour short-covering move for good measure to push stocks nicely positive. +1% NASDAQ, +0.6% Dow, +0.75% SP500, +1% SOX, +1.3% SP600. It was more of a growth day, but the gains were slowing down some from the early momentum. That is what one would expect. I still expect there might be some back and forth a bit of a stall that frustrated investors, and then a melt higher into the end of next week before the move runs out of gas.


OTHER MARKETS.

Dollar. The dollar was up on the session (1.2643 Euro versus 1.2703 Thursday). The dollar is well off its peaks near 1.21 hit a month back; it has had quite a slide. It was unable to hold a key support level, and now it is sliding back down to the next level. That level is the rising trendline off the bottom it made in late 2009. It is not in trouble, but it has lost some of its luster. Some of the other economies showed they are improving and were raising interest rates. The fear that was driving a lot of people into the dollar is not as rampant. The dollar has lost ground but has not lost its uptrend overall.

http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/dxy0.jpeg


Bonds. Bonds have similarly lost some of their allure as a safe haven because the economies look to be improving at least the perception is that the economies are better off than we thought in Q1 and Q2. Bonds have lost some of their ground as money is moved out of safe havens (10 year US Treasury 3.06% yield versus 3.02% Thursday). It was not long ago that yields were down at the 2.8% level. Just as with the dollar, there has been a shift of sentiment regarding the problems with economies around the world. US bonds, while still sought, are not as highly prized because they feel equities can rebound. Looking at a chart on the bond, it is selling back but is hardly in trouble. Indeed, it has set up an ABCD pattern and could test that prior peak and bounce off that level. Also notice the trendline from April rising. The old support line and this trendline intersect just about where the bond is coming back. Technically speaking that would be a double layer of support, and one would expect a bounce attempt off of it. How it fares off that bounce attempt will tell us about bonds over the next few months. If it fails, they will continue to fall and we should expect to see stocks rise. That is interesting given it is midsummer and stocks usually don't perform that well. You do see technology start to perform now, and that would be something to keep an eye on.

http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/tlt.jpeg


Gold. Gold had a much better day. It rallied with a nice move to the upside ($1,210.00, +15.00). It may have been premature, but we used that to exit some of our GLD positions because it has moved back to the prior high before this last breakout. The GLD gapped, tested that level on the high, and then it backed off. With that action, I felt it would be best to take some of it off table and see what happens. We can always come back and pick up more gold when it is ready to make its move again. Gold had a decent day, but it had two serious breaks lower over the past month and a half. It is struggling to get back up to the prior high. We can look back and see the prior high to gold hit back in late 2009, and it is bumping up against that level right now after breaking back below it. Gold doesn't look as alluring right now. We will give it some time, let it base out, and see if it will produce another buy point for us. I still think we will be able to buy and it will run higher with all the money printed in the world. We just have to get the next best entry point.

http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/xgld.jpeg


Oil. Oil looks to be back on track. It was seriously on the ropes with concern about the US economy over the past few weeks. It was in real trouble over the concerns about the EU in May. It rebounded off the bottom of its range. The US concerns sent it reeling, but now it is making a solid recovery. Inventories fell sharply this past week over -4.5M barrels and that helped send the price higher. On Friday it was up again ($76.20, +0.75). A very solid move back over the trendline that may challenge the March range. It is taking its time, but it is in a trading range so you do have ups and downs. It made a higher low, it recovered its trendline, and it could move back up to the top of its range if the world economies continue to move higher: If there is good earnings and guidance, that would indicate that the world economies may actually need to continue using all the oil; thus there would be more demand. Rising demand plus limited quantities equals higher prices.

http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/xoil.jpeg


TECHNICAL PICTURE

INTERNALS

Volume. Volume was somewhat dramatic. It dropped rather precipitously, falling over 20% on NASDAQ to 1.5B shares and down 25% on the NYSE to 881M shares. Very light trade.

Breadth. Breadth was not bad at 3:1 on NASDAQ, 3.4:1 on the NYSE. It is still quite strong on these indices, and that was good to see. The moves were not huge, but they were broad. Stocks from all over the market moved higher. The SP600 was one of the big movers and was again a relative strength leader. You can understand why breadth was stronger. There are more small caps than large cap stocks. When they perform well the breadth looks good, and we like to see that because they are a harbinger of economic activity to come. If they improve and do well, then the economy will likely do well also.


CHARTS

SP500. SP500 broke through the 1070 level which was its first challenge on this oversold bounce. It has hit this point many times in the past, and it is also roughly that long-term support level and is back over that. It has not put too much distance on it, so it is not out of woods. I still anticipate it to rally back toward the 200 day EMA or the June peak. That would also correspond with the bottom of the January peak. That gives it some more room, but after this big surge, it may have to move laterally for a day or two before continuing higher to end the week. I want it to be up in this range by expiration Friday. We can bank some profits. We will have to see how it works, but thus far the oversold bounce the working as anticipated. Given the low volume, I cannot put more expectation on it other than an oversold bounce that is being fueled also by short covering moving into earnings season. Earnings season may be able to give it an extra goose and send it higher. From a technical standpoint, thus far a move up to the 200 day EMA or the June peak would be all we could squeeze out of this move without something else helping it along the way.

NASDAQ. NASDAQ posted a gain as well. It moved through its first test, moving back into this gap point. It has not been back here since it gapped down just over two weeks back. This is an important move. When it gets back to the top of this gap point, that would put it at 2220. That is only 24 points away, and we will have to see how it handles that. I am still looking for it to move up to the 200 day EMA, through it, and up toward the June peak as well. This entire range will be tough for it to move into. I will be watching to see when the momentum runs out. Volume was low again on NASDAQ. It has been low on the entire move higher; indeed, volume has been lower for all the indices.

SP600. It was good to see SP600 post +1.3% and pick up momentum. It broke through resistance, and they finally put mileage on their first test. They are at the 200 day EMA as well roughly the mid-range of the January peak. This will be where it gets tough for the SP600. From the 200 day EMA up to the June peak where there is a gapdown point as well as the March consolidation range. That is about all I can hope to squeeze out of this one as well unless something changes. I think there will still be more basing after this move with all of these. Maybe a breakdown. Some say there will be a breakdown, but that's one of the good things: Everyone is so pessimistic right now, it is a benefit for the market overall.

SOX. The SOX held the long term support the entire month of May and June, and then finally made the break higher. It cleared the 200 day EMA this week, and it is trying to move back up toward the mid section of its range. That would put it at the January peak, and that is where I am shooting on most of these. Other indices failed to get there, so I will be looking to see if the other indices make it to that level this time. That would give nice gains on our upside positions. We could clear out some and see where they go from there.


LEADERSHIP

Financial. JPM mimicked the SP500 with its break below the 2010 lows and then the reversal (the false breakdown). It is setting up a nice pattern: a surge, a test, and then another surge on Friday. I like what it is showing, and looks like it can build on this and continue higher. GS had a good day on Friday as well. There is a nice bounce trying to form a rounded bottom. Before it gives us a really good buy, it may come up toward this peak in late June at the 50 day EMA and test back a bit and then start back up. We would be looking for that as our entry point on this, and that would complete this rounded bottom. It is not just big names. FITB broke higher over a resistance level on Friday after stalling at that level on Thursday. Financials are looking better, and it will help SP500 if they are on the move. That, of course, helps the entire market.

Technology. AAPL is still trading in the middle of its three-month trading range. It has bounced right in the middle, it held the middle part of that level today where it gapped up in April, and it posted a modest gain. It is not adding much, but it is not detracting at this point either. GOOG had an interesting session because it announced it had renewed its license in China. It gapped to the upside, and BIDU struggled just a little as a result. It looks like GOOG may try to have an island reversal. It gapped lower in late June, sold off, has recovered and gapped back up through that same point. That will get more momentum to the upside, maybe up to the June peak at roughly 505. That might be an interesting play to watch on the technical move alone. AKAM came off its 50 day EMA and is continuing its recovery move. FFIV took a day off on Friday. After breaking out back up to a new 2010 high, a little bit of pause in normal. Technology is showing better action, and that is exactly what I want to see. It often improves in the summer months, and we will see if more leadership appears in the techs.

Retail. PNRA was one we moved into on Friday. It had rising volume in a low-volume market as it continues to move off the bottom of its trading range. It has a well-defined support level and started to move higher. I like what I see here. I was looking for a trade back up in its range near the June peak at 85; a nice move if we can ride that one back up to that point. We picked up some NFLX. It tested back like I wanted it to after the big Wednesday surge. It came back, held the near the 10 and 18 day EMAs and started to bounce. We moved into it on Friday thinking it has room to the upside after a little ABCD pattern and a test of the initial move off that pattern. PCLN continued higher. A very nice move here, clearing the 50 day EMA and not stopping at all. It looks very solid and like it will continue to the upside. It looks like it has put in its base and is ready to run. Next entry point would be when this breakout move stalls, tests back toward the gap point, and then continues to the upside. If it can do that, that's the next point you would be looking to take some positions. CMG is one we played on this strong move upside. It has yet to respond in the market recovery, and that makes it suspect. It could break either way, but it might end up breaking to the downside because it is not moving well at all as the market rebounded in the oversold bounce. It was up much stronger and longer than any of the other stocks. Maybe it is not unexpected that it has a longer recovery period and may actually need to form a new base.

Energy. Energy has rebounded over the past week as well. A lot of stocks are moving up in the range but haven't gotten that far. They are halfway up or not even that far. SU is a stock whose price depends very much on the price of oil. It is mimicking what oil is doing. APA bounced up, but it is still just not that strong. UNT has bounced as well but it is not that strong either.

Industrial. Industrials seem to be improving on the idea that the European and US economies may not be that bad off. Although the US economy may not be as good as was anticipated. This average is that they will be okay, and thus we see those industrial stocks that may sell in Europe and other foreign countries doing quite well. CAT added a very nice +2.5% Friday on top of the nice move Wednesday. Glad to have positions in CAT as it climbed higher. BUCY may try to break out over a three-month's base. A strong move this week clearing the 50 day EMA Friday. We should not move in here. We should watch for a bit further move higher and then a test. If it can hold and make a new upside move, that's when we would want to move in.

Leadership is still out there, but it is not blanketing the market. There are a lot of stocks that have sold off and are either making oversold bounces or have put in decent bases and are moving higher. Others are just continuing to the upside and having yet to slow down significantly. That is fine. We will look for new buy points on them and on those that come off the bottoms of their trading ranges. We have seen that when moving into stocks such as PNRA as it bounces off a well-defined support range.


THE ECONOMY

Latest rate hikes in South Korea and India bolster the idea world economies are recovering.

US dollar, bonds also suggest world economies are recovering.

If Europe is recovering, Fed may raise rates sooner than expected. After all, the only reason the Fed dropped its rate hike talk was because the EU implosion in May.


TO VIEW THE ECONOMY VIDEO CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK:

http://investmenthouse1.com/ihmedia/Economy.wmv



THE MARKET

MARKET SENTIMENT

Extreme bearishness hit ahead of this oversold rally. The AAII reported bearish sentiment at 57%, one of its highest levels ever. Investment advisors are getting bearish and less bullish, coming close to a crossover, always a significant move. It is clear that investors are very bearish and how they respond to this market bounce will give very good insight into just how pervasive the gloomy view is.

VIX. The VIX has traded down to the 200 day EMA as the market rebounded over the past week. The notable feature is that the SP500 and NASDAQ hit new 2010 lows, but volatility did not hit new 2010 highs. That was put in back in May with all the fear about Europe. That tells you that option traders are not pricing in the kind of volatility and fear they did in May, and they were expecting there to be more of a rally. We are getting that rally right now. We have had a heck of a rally on the indices with the Dow, for instance, putting in its best weekly move in a year. Will it continue? We have volatility at the 200 day EMA, and it is slowing down. The question is whether the market will be able to continue if volatility bounces. This is the point where there may be some struggling that frustrates investors and could lead them to believe that the oversold bounce has ended. I expect volatility to bounce a bit as the stock indices fade to start next week. That would be before a continued run into earnings and expiration Friday. We may get a head fake, a bounce, and then it can break through the 200 day EMA and come back down to the levels hit in April. The important thing is that the volatility did not move to a new high as the indices moved to a new low. That told us that the market was improving and there would be an oversold bounce. The question now is how far that bounce will go.

VIX: 24.98; -0.73
VXN: 25.99; -1.06
VXO: 23.54; -1.22

Put/Call Ratio (CBOE): 0.85; +0.04

Bulls versus Bears:

This is a reading of the number of bullish investment advisors versus bearish advisors. The reason you look at this is that it gives you an idea of how bullish investors are. If they are too bullish then everyone is in the market and it is heading for a top: if everyone wants to be in the market then all the money is in and there is no more new cash to drive it higher. On the other side of the spectrum if there are a lot of bears then there is a lot of cash on the sideline, and as the market rallies it drags that cash in as the bears give in. That cash provides the market the fuel to move higher. If bears are low it is the same as a lot of bulls: everyone is in and the market doesn't have the cash to drive it higher.

Bulls: 37.0%. Another drop and a fairly significant one, coming close to the 35% threshold level considered bullish for the market. Down from 41.1% where it held for two weeks. Fell from 43.8%, 47.2%, and 56.0% before that. This move started at a low of 35.6% in February, the lowest it has been since July 2009. 35% is the threshold level suggesting bullishness. After peaking at 53 on this move the bulls lost some nerve, falling to a new low post- July 2009. Once again bulls peaked out near the 50% level. Bulls have bumped at 50ish since late August 2009, falling to 45ish and then rebounding. Hit a high of 47.7% mid-June on the run from the March lows. Again, to be seriously bearish it needs to get up to the 60% to 65% level.

Bears: 34.8%. Up from 33.3% as bears approach the 35% threshold level as well, not to mention a crossover with the bulls. Those crossovers are very bullish, but likely won't get there given the market rally. Solid rise from the mid to upper 20's. Fell to 18.7% on the low. Hit a high of 27.8% level on the prior leg in February. Over 35% is considered bullish for the market; definitely at the lower end of the scale. Peaked near 28% in November, falling short of the 35.6% hit in July 2009. For reference, cracking above the 35% threshold considered bullish. Hit a high on this run at 47.2%. For reference, bearishness hit a 5 year high at 54.4% the last week of October 2008. The move over 50 took bearish sentiment to its highest level since 1995. Extreme negative sentiment. Prior levels for comparison: Bearishness peaked at 37.4% in September 2007. It topped the June 2006 peak (36%) on that run. That June peak eclipsed the March 2006 high (33%) and well above the 2005 highs that spawned new rallies (30% in May 2005, 29.2% in October 2005). That was a huge turn, unlike any seen in recent history.


NASDAQ

Stats: +21.05 points (+0.97%) to close at 2196.45
Volume: 1.56B (-22.13%)

Up Volume: 1.19B (-239.607M)
Down Volume: 407.575M (-164.594M)

A/D and Hi/Lo: Advancers led 3.05 to 1
Previous Session: Advancers led 2.32 to 1

New Highs: 26 (+7)
New Lows: 41 (-4)

NASDAQ CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/NASDAQ.jpeg

NASDAQ 100 CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/NASDAQ100.jpeg

SOX CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/SOX.jpeg


SP500/NYSE

Stats: +7.71 points (+0.72%) to close at 1077.96
NYSE Volume: 881.988M (-24.41%)

Up Volume: 718.195M (-224.021M)
Down Volume: 155.932M (-58.668M)

A/D and Hi/Lo: Advancers led 3.44 to 1
Previous Session: Advancers led 3.1 to 1

New Highs: 140 (+14)
New Lows: 30 (-10)

SP500 CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/SP500.jpeg

SP600 CHART: http://investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/SP600.jpeg


DJ30

Stats: +59.04 points (+0.58%) to close at 10198.03
Volume DJ30: 135M shares Friday versus 192M shares Thursday.

DJ30 CHART: http://www.investmenthouse.com/ihmedia/DJ30.jpeg


MONDAY

There is a lot of economic data on the table. Retail sales and the FOMC minutes are out on Wednesday. Initial claims on Thursday. Regional manufacturing from New York, industrial production, the Philly Fed, and then the CPI and Michigan Sentiment on Friday. There is a lot of data in addition to the start of earnings season, and all of that can work to drive the market higher. The market has been moving to the upside on the false breakdown/oversold bounce based upon very high negative sentiment. AAII has an incredibly high negative reading with bears at 57%. That negative view of the market helped turn it from this breakdown. Now we have concerns from the shorts that the market may move higher because Europe may not be as bad as was thought. The rest of the world is not as bad as believed either given central banks are raising interest rates. Therefore, we could have some serious issues with respect to the market actually selling off near term.

That is no problem if you are moving to the upside. The question is how far it will go. We may have a stall out Monday. It may continue higher, but earlier in the week I expect there to be a pause in the move. I still expect the earnings momentum and concern by the shorts to drive the market higher indeed up toward the 200 day EMA and roughly in the June peak. After that I don't expect much more. We will be looking to take some profits at that point and see what the earnings bring. We would have had a very nice run into earnings, and the initial earnings may spur the market a bit higher. We will of course be more than willing to let our positions run higher.

At the same time as it makes the move up, we have several downside plays on the report I am looking at. I am just following them higher as they move to the upside and still are below resistance points. If they turn, they would make great downside plays. I will continue to look for other downside plays this weekend and through next week. If the market does run out of steam and turn back over, it will trade right back down in its range and we can play that move. It is either going to sell off to the bottom of the range and bounce to continue the base, or it will break down and fall back down near 1000 or back into the 900's as some are predicting. It will do one of those, thus downside place will be advantageous to us. We will take what we can to the upside, and when the move starts to peak out, close a lot of them or reduce the size of our positions. Then when they fall, we can take the rest off the table, or if they move we will let them.

Often the reason we leave parts of positions on the table is because what I believe is not necessarily what the market will do. I try to anticipate tops and bottoms, but it is difficult to pick them. The market will often move up higher than you think it will. It will continue to rally and rally, and the positions you leave on the table really start to return the huge moves. We all like to think we are omniscient and can tell when the market will top and bottom, but we cannot. We can just read the technical signals, get into positions when they are good, and then ride them. What we will do is take some gain off the table at this point when it looks like the move is slowing down. Then if it continues higher, that is great. We will let those positions run and look for new opportunity to get into more. I don't think it will. If it does roll over, we will take care of our upside positions and play the downside as well while the market continues to trade in this range. That is what I think it will do. I don't believe necessarily that this head and shoulders will fully consummate. In other words, I do not think it will give us a decline that is equivalent to the amplitude from the neckline to the top of the head.

We are going to continue to let our positions run. We will look for a few more opportunities to the upside on quality stocks that have pulled back a bit such as NFLX and then started to move to the upside. We do not want to take a lot of positions in this move. We already have half our move under our belt. I want to let these positions we took on Tuesday and Wednesday rally for us and then take gain. I do not want to take a bunch of positions to the upside near the peak and have it turn back on us. We will truncate our buys to the upside, we will put on more downside plays as we see them develop, and we will be ready for the market if it turns over. I still have to view this as an oversold bounce. Lower volume on the move, very big topping pattern for the entirety of 2010. The odds are we will get a bounce that will stall out and roll back over. That is my game plan for now, but it is subject to change as always, based on what the market shows. We will always follow the market and take what it gives. Have a great weekend.


Support and Resistance

NASDAQ: Closed at 2196.45

Resistance:
2205 is the November 2009 peak 2210 (from September 2008) to 2212 (the July 2009 closing low)
2221 is the gap down up side point from June.
2245 from July 2008 through 2260 from late 2005.
The 50 day EMA at 2250
The 200 day SMA at 2253
2275 - 2278 from the February 2008 and April 2008 lows
2273 to 2282 marks bottom of January 2010 lateral peak
2292 is a low from January 2008
2319 from the September 2008 peak
2320 to 2326.28 is the January 2010 high
2324-2370 is a range of resistance from early 2008
2382-2395 from 2008

Support:
2185 to 2195 represent support points for years: December 2004 peak, July to October 2005 consolidation, January, March and July 2008 lows, and October 2009 peak.
2184 is the June gap bottom side.
2177 is a low from March 2008
2169 is the March 2008 closing low (double bottom)
2168 is the September 2009, intraday peak
2167 from the July 2008 intraday low
2155 is the March 2008 intraday low
2100 is the February 2010 low
2024 from November 2009
2020 to 2005 from the Q4 2009 peaks


S&P 500: Closed at 1077.96
Resistance:
1078 is the October range low
1084 to 1080 (September 2009 peak)
The 50 day EMA at 1094
1101 is the October 2009 high and the recent May and June 2010 interim peaks
1106 is the September 2008 low
The 200 day SMA at 1112
1114 is the November 2009 peak
1119 is the early December intraday high
Bottom of the January 2010 consolidation 1131 to 1136
1133 from a September 2008 intraday low
1151 is the January 2010 peak
1156 is the Sept 2008 low
1170 is the prior March 2010 high
1174 is the May 2010 high
1181 is the April selloff low
1185 from late September 2008

Support:

1070 is the late September 2009 peak as well as several other peaks and valleys even in 2010
1044 is the October 2008 intraday high AND the February 2010 low
1040 is the May 2010 low
1020 is the bottom of the late summer 2009 consolidation
946 from June 2009


Dow: Closed at 10,198
Resistance:
10,260 from the May and June 2010 interim peaks
The 50 day EMA at 10,260
10,285 is the late December consolidation peak
The 200 day SMA at 10,365
10,365 is the late September 2008 low
10,496 is the November 2009 high
10,594 is the June 2010 peak
10,609 from the Mid-September 2008 interim low
10,730 is the January 2010 peak
10,920 is the recent May high
10,963 is the July 2008 low
11,100 from the 7-08 low
11,205 is the April closing high
11,734 from 11-98 peak

Support:
10,120 is the October 2009 peak
9829 is the September 2008 closing high
9918 is the September 2008 peak
9855 is the early September peak in its lateral range
9835 is the late September 2009 peak AND the February 2010 low
9774 is the May 2010 intraday low
9325 is a late 2008 interim peak
9034 from early 2009 peaks


Economic Calendar

These are consensus expectations. Our expectations will vary and are discussed in the 'Economy' section.

July 06 - Tuesday
ISM Services, June (10:00): 53.8 actual versus 55.0 expected, 55.4 prior

July 07 - Wednesday

July 08 - Thursday
Continuing Claims, 06/26 (08:30): 4413K actual versus 4600K expected, 4637K prior (revised from 4616K)
Initial Claims, 07/03 (08:30): 454K actual versus 460K expected, 475K prior (revised from 472K)
Crude Inventories, 07/03 (11:00): -4.96M actual versus -2.01M prior
Consumer Credit, May (15:00): -$9.1B actual versus -$3.0B expected, -$14.9B prior (revised from $1.0B)

July 09 - Friday
Wholesale Inventories, May (10:00): 0.5% actual versus 0.4% expected, 0.2% prior (revised from 0.4%)

July 13 - Tuesday
Trade Balance, May (08:30): -$39.5B expected, -$40.3B prior
Treasury Budget, June (2:00): -$70.0B expected, -$135.9B prior

July 14 - Wednesday
Retail Sales, June (08:30): -0.2% expected, -1.2% prior
Retail Sales ex-auto, June (08:30): 0.0% expected, -0.8% prior
Export Prices ex-ag., June (08:30): 0.6% prior
Import Prices ex-oil, June (08:30): 0.5% prior
Business Inventories, May (10:00): 0.2% expected, 0.4% prior
Crude Inventories, 07/10 (10:30): -4.96M prior
Minutes of FOMC Meeting (2:00)

July 15 - Thursday
Initial Claims, 07/10 (08:30): 449K expected, 454K prior
Continuing Claims, 07/03 (08:30): 4425K expected, 4413K prior
PPI, June (08:30): -0.1% expected, -0.3% prior
Core PPI, June (08:30): 0.1% expected, 0.2% prior
NY Fed - Empire Manu, July (08:30): 18.0 expected, 19.57 prior
Industrial Production, June (09:15): 0.0% expected, 1.3% prior
Capacity Utilization, June (09:15): 74.2 expected, 74.1% prior
Philadelphia Fed, July (10:00): 10 expected, 8.0 prior

July 16 - Friday
Core CPI, June (08:30): 0.1% expected, 0.1% prior
CPI, June (08:30): 0.0% expected, -0.2% prior
Net Long-Term TIC Fl, April (09:00): $83.0B prior
Michigan Sentiment, July (09:55): 74.5 expected, 76.0 prior

By: Jon Johnson, Editor
Copyright 2010 | All Rights Reserved

Jon Johnson is the Editor of The Daily at InvestmentHouse.com

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