Markets gapped down about a third of a percent in the large-caps and about one percent in the QQQ on Wednesday.   However, after a little morning vacillation, the bulls stepped in and tried to drive price back up.  This left is with cap-down white candles across the board.  Of the 3, only the QQQ printed a candle signal and that was an indecisive Spinning Top.  On the day, SPY (+0.02%) was flat, DIA (+0.32%) was up and QQQ (-0.48%) was down.  VXX fell 2% to 15.58 and T2122 fell out of the overbought territory down to 71.83.  10-year bond yields fell a bit to 1.282% and Oil (WTI) rose a dollar to $61.14/barrel on the back of the winter storm demand.

The Dow was buoyed by VZ and CV, which saw major moves on reports that BRKB had taken a major stake in Q4.  (Everybody wants to follow Buffett.)   The afternoon rally was helped by FOMC minutes that showed that an easy money policy will be in place for longer than many expected.  The group’s focus was clearly on getting employment back to pre-pandemic levels regardless of the cost.  Retail Sales in January also surged 5.3%, blowing away the consensus estimate of +1.2%.  This seems to signal that people are spending their December stimulus checks and just the opposite of the FOMC, indicate a potential for inflation. 

The key players in the recent “social media short squeeze” will be testifying today in front of the House Financial Services Committee.  The CEOs of Reddit, Robinhood, Melvin Capital, Citadel and a key Reddit trade known as “Roaring Kitty” will all testify about GME stock price manipulation.  Conspicuously absent from the list are major brokerages who also temporarily banned the shorting or trading of GME stock, such as SCHW, eTrade, Fidelity, IBKR, etc.  So, perhaps they will have their turn in the barrel in a different hearing.

Related to the virus, US infections continue the recent trend of decreasing new cases.  The totals have risen to 28,453,526 confirmed cases and deaths have now passed half a million at 502,544 deaths.  However, the number of new cases continues to fall quickly and is back down to the October level as the average number of new cases are now 79,112 new cases per day.  Unfortunately, deaths remain stubbornly high at a level of 2,145 per day.  Related to this, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach (the two largest US ports) have begun diverting container ships to alternate ports because over 800 post workers are out sick with Covid.  Unload times at these ports have risen from less than 3 days to more than 8 days as stretched staff have seen a major increase in traffic since last fall. This will add cost and likely delays to incoming freight.

Globally, the numbers rose to 110,520,588 confirmed cases and the confirmed deaths are now at 2,442,946 deaths.  However, the trends are good.  The world’s average of new cases continues to fall quickly and is now down to 367,784 per day.  Mortality lags but is also falling, now down to 10,239 new deaths per day.  In England, the government reported that new infections have dropped by two-thirds from the peak. However, in some “bad actor” news, Belgium reported that they have caught 184,000 violations of pandemic rules since last March (on a country of 11.5 million), but only 97,000 people were issued fines.

Overnight, the few Asian markets were mostly red.  Hong Kong (-1.58%) and Malaysia (-1.22%) led the losses.  However, there were a couple of holdouts with Shanghai (+0.55%) and Taiwan (+0.38%) closing higher.  In Europe, markets are also mostly red so far today.  The FTSE (-0.70%) and CAC (-0.22%) are down, but the DAX (+0.13%) is staying just above flat.  As of 7:30 am, US Futures are pointing toward a lower open.  The DIA is implying a -0.31% open, the SPY implying -0.40%, and the QQQ implying a -0.74% open at this hour. 

The major economic news for Thursday includes Philly Fed Mfg. Index, Jan. Building Permits, Jan. Import/Export Index, Jan. Housing Starts, and Weekly Initial Jobless Claims (all at 8:30 am), Crude Oil Inventories (11 am), and a couple Fed speakers (Brainard at 8 am and Bostic at 10 am).  Major earnings reports on the day include AAWW, GOLD, BLMN, CFX, EPAM, FE, HRL, KELYA, LKQ, MAR, NEM, OMC, RS, SRE, SO, SYNH, TECK, TPH, VTR, VC, WAB, WMT, and WM before the open.  Then after the close, COLD, AMN, AMAT, ATR, ANET, CNDT, ED, CPRT, EBS, KEYS, QDEL, RXT, ROKU, TDS, TXRH, and USM report.

With a lot of economic news out this morning, especially Jobless Claims and Housing data, markets do not seem optimistic. The winter storm also continues to weigh on sentiment in much of the country. However, the bulls remain in control of the trend as the bears have not been able to get enough traction for even a small pullback. Still, there may be market-related news out of the Congressional Hearing today that may shake things up again.

Forget about predicting. Knife-catching is not a good career path. Just follow the trend, respect support and resistance levels, and don’t chase the moves you missed.  Book your trade goals when you can and stick to your discipline.  If you keep locking in your profits when you have them, you’ll never go bust. Remember that trading is a marathon, not a sprint.  Don’t try to get rich quick.  Do it in the long-run by hitting goals over and over again.

Ed

Swing Trade Ideas for your consideration and watchlist: DXCM, AIG, PFE, CB, SNAP, PENN, C, KR, UNG. 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.

🎯 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.

Hit and Run Candlesticks / Road To Wealth Youtube videos

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.

Free YouTube Education  •  Subscription Plans • Private 2-Hour Coaching

DISCLAIMER: Investing / Trading involves significant financial risk and is not suitable for everyone. No communication from Hit and Run Candlesticks Inc, its affiliates or representatives is not financial or trading advice. All information provided by Hit and Run Candlesticks Inc, its affiliates and representatives are intended for educational purposes only. You are advised to test any new trading approach before implementing it.  Past performance does not guarantee future results.  Terms of Service