Little News But Downgrades Galore

Stocks opened just on the Southside of flat on Thursday before selling off slightly in the morning.  Then we saw a reversal and strong rally that lasted until we got a pullback the last half hour of the day.  This left us with indecisive, Spinning Top candles in all 3 major indices.  On the day, SPY gained 0.50%, DIA gained 0.35%, and QQQ gained 0.24%.  The VXX fell 1.35% to 24.05 and T2122 rose a bit to 36.96.  10-year bond yields surged again to 2.665% and Oil (WTI) rose just less than 1% to $97.13/barrel.

US Consumer debt jumped by almost $42 billion in February.  Debt levels rose to a record $4.5 trillion.  That was a much higher rate than the January increase and signals the impacts on consumers, which are being stretched thin by inflation.  Credit card debt alone jumped almost 21% in the month, compared to a 4% increase back in January.  This begins investors worrying about missed payments and bad debt collection and write-off impacts on creditors and especially regional banks (card issuers). This probably accounts for the fact that consumer confidence is at a 10-year low.

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BAC market analysts turned bearish on the economy overnight, lowering ratings on the entire transportation and homebuilding industries.  They also expressed concern over the banking sector not showing the profit gains that are expected in typical rising rate environments.  The bottom line is that they now expect a recession and almost immediate rotation into defensive sectors and assets (such as bonds).  Are they late to the party…you be the judge?

On the Russian invasion story, Congress voted to approve the stripping of Russia of its most-favored-nation trade status and also banned Russian oil and gas imports.  Less reported but more importantly, earlier the US re-enacted (by unanimous Senate vote) the World War II “Lend-Lease” program and has removed the 5-year limit on the duration of loans.  The bill also declares the conflict in Ukraine began with the ceasing of Crimea.  This implies the US will back Ukraine through the end of the conflict (years if needed), including the recapture of Crimea.  On the other side of things, Germany urged their banks and gas purchasing companies to keep their contracts with Russia Gazprom.  In addition, Hungary bought a stake in Russian Sberbank in a sign of support for Putin by his friend Hungarian PM Orban.  MSFT also announced it had used a court order to disable 7 internet domains used by Russia to hack Ukrainian targets such as media organizations and government agencies.

Overnight, the Asian markets were mixed but leaned to the upside in modest trading.  India (+0.82%), Taiwan (+0.62%), Shanghai and Australia (both +0.47%) led the gains.  Meanwhile, Singapore (-0.62%) was the main loser with a couple of other exchanges just on the red side of flat.  However, in Europe, we see green across the board (with the lone exception of Russia’s -1.18%) at mid-day. The FTSE (+0.97%), DAX (+1.31%), and CAC (+1/37%) are typical of the continent in early afternoon trading.  As of 7:30 am, US Futures are pointing toward a modestly green start to the day.  The DIA implies a +0.40% open, the SPY is implying a +0.33% open, and the QQQ implies a +0.34% open at this hour.  10-year bond yields are up again to 2.688% and Oil (WTI) is down to $95.95/barrel in early trading.

Major economic news scheduled for release on Friday is limited to the WASDE (World Agriculture) Report at noon.  There are no major earnings reports scheduled for the day.

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As the premarkets look modestly higher this morning, we are still looking at a down week at this point. A lack of economic news and/or earnings leaves traders to focus on news such as the Russian overnight bombing of a railway station full of evacuees and market analysts becoming more convinced recession is coming to an economy near you sometime in the next two quarters. These will be limited headwinds for the bulls. With all this said, we should expect more volatility (just like yesterday’s big intraday reversal) and be prepared. That means either being very nimble/quick, being hedged, or having loose enough stops (and the ability to withstand short-term pain) to ride out the whipsaw action. Trade carefully and position yourself so that shocks in either direction don’t throw you into a panic.

Remember that it’s Friday and we have a weekend news cycle ahead. Stick to those trading rules and manage the things that you can control while trying not to worry about the things you have no control over at all. Trade with the trend, don’t chase, keep consistently taking profits when you have them, and move your stops in your favor. Remember that the first rule of making big money in the market is to not lose big money in the market. So, don’t be stubborn, and protect yourself from yourself. If you are wrong, just admit it and take your loss. Trading is a marathon, not a sprint. So, focus on the process and enjoy yourself.

Ed

Swing Trade Ideas for your consideration and watchlist: OLLI, HBIO, TLRY, X, ORCL, MRO, BITO, XLF. You can find Rick’s review of tickers on his YouTube Channel here. Trade your plan, take profits along the way, and smart. Also, remember to check for impending earnings reports. Finally, remember that any tickers we mention and talk about in the trading room are not recommendations to buy or sell.

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🎯 Mike Probst: Rick, Got CTL off the scanner today. Already up 30%. Love it.

🎯 Dick Carp: the scanner paid for the year with HES-thank you

🎯 Arnoldo Bolanos: LTA scanner really works $$, thanks Ed.

🎯 Bob S: LTA is incredible…. I use it … would not trade without it

🎯 Malcolm .: Posted in room 2, @Rick… I used the LTA Scanner to go through hundreds of stocks this weekend and picked out three to trade:  PYPL, TGT, and ZS.   Quality patterns and with my trading, up 24%, 7% and 12%…. this program is gold.

🎯 Friday 6/21/19  (10:09 am) Aaron B: Today, my account is at +190% since January. Thanks, RWO HRC Flash Malcolm Thomas Steve Ed Bob S Bob C Mike P and everyone that contributes every day. I love our job.

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Disclosure: We do not act on all trades we mention, and not all mentions acted on the day of the mention. All trades we mention are for your consideration only.

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