Choppy price action slightly favors the Bears.

Yesterday the Bears had a tiny edge as the market moved south with choppy price action.  It’s very important on to get lulled to sleep during slow and grinding markets.  Big whips remain a strong possibility around index highs.  Also, keep in mind that summer price action is often light on volume making it even more challenging to trade.  Stay focused on price, stick to your rules and strive for your goals.  Everything else is just distracting noise.

On the Calendar

The lite Economic Calendar continues today with the weekly Jobless Claims report at 8:30 AM Eastern.  Claims have been tracking lower all year pointing to strong demand for labor.  This week the forecasters expect only a tiny bump up from last week but still very low overall.  After that, a 10:00 AM we have a Fed speaker and a bucket full of bond announcements that will largely go unnoticed by the market.

On the Earnings Calendar, there are 27 reporting earnings today to be aware of if you are holding or thinking of entering them as new positions. BERY is one that many were watching yesterday that reports after the bell.

Action Plan

DIA, SPY, and IWM all dipped lower yesterday with slow and grinding price action.  As of now, I would say no technical damage to the charts has occurred.  The VIX, although just slightly higher continues to show no fear of a breakdown and remains near historic lows.  The QQQ’s managed to close higher yesterday despite the weakness of its fellow indexes.  My guess is the burst of bullishness comes from the positive earnings seen in companies like RHT and ADBE.  Keep in mind that the QQQ’s remain under price resistance and still has a lot of work to do if it intends to breakthrough

Futures are pointing to a slightly lower open this morning.  I’m expecting that choppy and whippy price action will continue today.  If the Bears don’t soon show some strength breaking below supports then start watching for a bounce.  I will be looking for new trades, but I continue to plan to keep them small due to the choppy price action.

Trade Wisely,

Doug