At resistance or not at resistance, that is the question?

The four top indexes closed right at resistance or just below.  Now comes the decision point.  Will it be the Bulls or the Bears answering in the majority?  If you have been or watching or reading any of the market new headlines, the predictions have started the fly.  There are the rose colored glasses crowd with the deep conviction that the changes made by the Trump administration will carry us much higher.  Then we have the gloom and doomer’s, convinced we have been teetering on the edge of the world and our next stop is a bottomless pit.  As I continue to say predicting is fools that will rob your hard earned money if you allow it to influence your decision making.  Personally, I have always felt it is much easier to simply follow the market if or when it picks a direction.  You and I are the CEO’s of our trading businesses. Therefore the ultimate decision always rests upon our shoulders.  There will never be anyone that cares about our money more than us.  So let’s make our own decisions!  Let’s turn off all the outside noise and focus on price rather than waste our time being influenced by the predictors.

Items to watch

This is a big week on the Economic Calendar.  We kick it off with PMI Manufacturing at 9:45 Eastern followed by the ISM and Construction Spending reports at 10.  The ISM index number is the most likely to move the market.  Other than that we have two Fed speakers out there stumping on interest rates today.  It seems to me they have said plenty and have nothing noteworthy left to say.  Some quiet would be nice!  On the Earnings Calendar, there are 38 companies reporting today to be aware of.  Keep in mind that the FOMC minutes will be out on Wednesday and the Big Employment Situation report happen Friday.  Both of these important reports tend to give the market pause because of the uncertainty that comes with them.

Action Plan

As you know, I trimmed a lot of risk from my portfolio last week.  If the Bears use resistance to begin moving the market lower, I should be affected very little as a result.  On the other hand, if the Bulls step up to the plate I’m prepared with the cash in hand to start buying are low-risk entry points as they develop!  First things first, I will manage existing open positions.  After that, I will do the job of the trader and begin going through my watch list preparing for the next trade.  I won’t predict, I will follow when direction as has been determined.

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Trade Wisely,

Doug