Getaway Day

Combine Friday and the last trading day before Christmas, and you might hear volume sucked out the market.  Today is the perfect storm for a Getaway Day for the long weekend.  As always there will likely be a flurry of opening activity, but after that, expect very light volume chop.  Monday the market is closed, and I would not be at surprised to light volume next Tuesday as traders extend their vacation.  If your not planning to take the day off then work on your trading plan for next year.  Review your past trades and look for ways to improve.  Clean your watchlists and prepare shopping lists for next year.  It’s also a very good time to study new techniques or strategies to improve as a trader.  I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas!

On the Calendar

The last day of trading before Christmas see an Economic Calendar with several important reports.  At 8:30 AM Eastern is the Durable Good Orders which consensus sees increasing by 2%.  Even after excluding transportation orders are expected to increase by a solid gain of 0.5% with the core number growing by 0.4%.  Also at 8:30 AM is Personal Income and Outlays which income is seen rising 0.4% and consumer spending up 0.5% with the holiday boost.  At 10:00 AM is New Home Sales is expecting a decline from October’s 685K vs. Novembers 650K.  At 10:00 AM is Consumer Sentiment that is expected to remain very strong with a consensus estimate of 97.0.

On the Earnings Calendar, there are only six companies expected to report today now of which are particularly notable.

Action Plan

The Bulls found a little inspiration yesterday gaping up and pushing higher during the day.  Unfortunately, the last hour of the day saw some significant profit taking once again confirming a reason for caution.  Currently, the uptrend is still intact, and the VIX showed no rising fear.  Futures are currently positive removing the possibility of a government shutdown by passing a CR  that’s good through January 19, 2018.

After the morning rush, I expect today’s volume to drop faster than the Times Square New Years Eve ball.  Although I will be at my desk, I will not be doing any trading other than maybe taking some profits.

Trade Wisely,

Doug