Do you believe in magic?

I’m going to kick off this quarter with a little rant.  Over the long weekend, my email and social media feed’s filled with all kinds of offers selling the dream of simple market riches.  They all allude to some newly discovered indicator or pattern that can suddenly transform any trader into the super wealthy almost overnight.  That is total BS!  There is no magic or double top secret newly discovered formula you can buy that will make you rich.  Sorry to burst your bubble but it’s the truth.

There is only one way to success in any business.  It’s called hard work.  It’s the original and the only magic formula to success.  Start with some education, develop a trading plan (business plan) pull up your big-boy britches and get to work.  Trading success is a marathon, not a sprint.  There are obstacles to overcome and a lot of frustrating times on the path to success.  However, if you stay dedicated, disciplined, focused, willing to pay your dues and put in the overtime, then success can be yours.  Choose to believe in all that other mumbo-jumbo and plan to provide liquidity to those that do it the old-fashioned way.  Hard work!

On the Calendar

The Economic Calendar on the first trading day of Q2 the Economic Calendar hits the ground running with three important reports.  At 9:45 AM Eastern we get the PMI Mfg. Index which consensus expects to come in steady and strong with a 55.7 reading.  The ISM Mfg. Index at 10:00 AM expects a slight decline to 60.0 vs. the 60.8 February print that hit a very strong 14-year high.  Also at 10:00 AM is Construction Spending which consensus suggests will bounce 0.5% higher in February vs. the flat reading in January.  There are 7-bond events on the calendar as well as a Fed Speaker at 6 PM to round out the day.

On the Earnings Calendar, there are 132 stragglers expected to report Q4 2017 earnings today.

Action Plan

On Friday the Bulls managed a nice bounce of more than 250 Dow points.  The bullish sentiment spread across the all 4 of the major indexes but they all remain in down-trending patterns and below significant levels of price resistance.  Historically stocks do much better in April, but we seem to be getting off to a rocky start for the Q2 with the Dow Futures currently suggesting a gap down open of more than 75 points.  China announced the new tariffs on more than 120 products yesterday as our two governments square off for a Trade War and keeping the markets on edge.

After a 3-day weekend, it’s normal to see some light and choppy trading as traders extend their vacations one more day but that may not be the case today with so much nervous energy.  With earnings and economic reports continuing to demonstrate strength, our current uncertainty is by-in-large politically generated.  Political volatility is very challenging to trade because complete market reversals can occur as often and as quickly as the political spin shifts.

Trade Wisely,

Doug