3-Day Jackson Hole Meet and Jobless Claims

Wednesday brought more indecision and rest.  SPY gapped up 0.20%, DIA opened 0.18% higher, and QQQ opened up 0.16%.  From there, all three major index ETFs wandered back and forth across their gaps all day long.  This action gave us Spinning Top candles in all three, with SPY and QQQ both having white bodies and DIA having a small black body.  All three also remain above their T-line (8ema).  It also gave us a higher high, higher low, and higher close in SPY and QQQ while DIA got the higher high and higher close coming up a touch short on the low front. Yet again, this took place on well-below average volume in all three major index ETFs.

On the day, all 10 sectors were in the green as both Basic Materials (+1.48%) and Consumer Cyclical (+1.43%) were well out in front leading the others higher.  On the other side, Communications (+0.01%) and Energy (+0.04%) lagging well behind the other sector.  Meanwhile, SPY gained 0.35%, DIA gained 0.10%, and QQQ gained 0.47%.  VXX climbed 1.56% to close at 46.89 and T2122 climbed back up well into its overbought territory to close at 90.97.  On the bond front, 10-year bond yields fell to 3.801% and Oil (WTI) dropped another 1.85% to close at $71.82 per barrel.  So, again on Wednesday we had an indecisive, yet bullish day.  Perhaps it could even be seen as a pause or rest day.

The major economic news scheduled for Wednesday was limited to EIA Weekly Crude Oil Inventories which had a much larger-than-expected drawdown of 4.649 million barrels (compared to a forecasted 2.000-million-barrel drawdown and the prior week’s 1.357-million-barrel inventory build).  The Bureau of Labor Statistics also released the US Payrolls Benchmark.  While widely referred to as a revision of the Nonfarm Payroll data, it really is not.  It actually is the difference between two sets of data which are derived from completely different sources. At any rate, the release was a -818k number (compared to three of the last four benchmark releases, which were each +400k to +500k).  This release was interpreted as the Nonfarm Payrolls data released monthly having over-estimated job additions by 818k jobs this year.  Theoretically, this would mean that the job market started cooling much sooner than widely noticed and could give the Fed more evidence that a rate cut is needed.  (Side note: Bloomberg reported that at least three major foreign banks, MFG, BNPQY, and NMR obtains the report early by directly calling the BLS.)

In Fed news, on Wednesday, July’s Fed Meeting Minutes were released.  The minutes summarized the opinion of FOMC voters as leaning toward a September rate cut…if the data continues as it has been trending.  Specifically, the minutes said, “the vast majority of policymakers observed that, if the data continued to come in about as expected, it would likely be appropriate to ease policy at the next meeting.” The report also noted that “many participants” felt the current stance was restrictive and argued that if inflation data continued to show cooling, holding rates as they are would increase the drag on the economy.  It said that all the voters were on board with rates being held flat at the July meeting.  However, also saying “several” indicating recent inflation reductions and increases in joblessness “had provided a plausible case for reducing the target range 25 basis points at this (July) meeting or that they could have supported such a decision.”  Finally, the report noted a “dwindling camp” of FOMC members still feared that premature easing could rekindle inflation. 

After the close, BBAR, NDSN, SNOW, TBBB, URBN, and ZM all reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines. Meanwhile, A, CAAP, and SNPS reported misses on revenue while beating on earnings. 

Click for video

In stock news, on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported rumors that WMT plans to sell its #3.74 billion stake in JD.  At the same time, Reuters reported multiple analysts were telling clients that OXY had reached “Buffett Put” territory.  (In other words, OXY has fallen to a price, below $60, where BRKB has routinely bought millions of shares.) Later, Bloomberg reported that OKTGP is in exclusive talks and near a deal to acquire RILYN for undisclosed terms.  At the same time, Reuters reported that BN is working with UBS and BAC to arrange financing to acquire GRFS.  Later, after the close, HAL reported that it was hit by a cyberattack.  The extent and impact of the attack are not yet determined.  At the same time, TD announced the sale of 40.5 million shares of SCHW, which reduces its ownership of SCHW to 10.1%.  Later, MSFT reworked its business units and announced the changes at an investor presentation Wednesday.  MSFT lowered what it now called its “Intelligent Cloud” unit forecast by as much as $5 billion for 2024 (from a high estimate of $28.9 billion to a new low estimate of $23.8 billion).

Elsewhere, it is widely expected a lockout (or, if not, strike) will stop Canadian railroads as of today.  CNI and CP are both expected to participate in the shutdown.  This could have major impacts on many businesses such as CF, NTR, CHRW, GLNCY, MERC, as well as oil, coal, and automakers. (Update: The shutdown did take place. So, all Canadian rail transportation is offline. For anyone unfamiliar with Canada, this is the vast, vast majority of all freight movement in the country. Canadian population is heavily centered on a handful of cities with a relatively sparse road network between, but the vast distances crossed by rail. The fact that most of those cities are found at a seaport or near the US border also makes Canadian rail freight problematic for US companies.

In stock legal and governmental news, on Wednesday, India’s Commerce Minister Goyal accused AMZN of predatory pricing practices. However, he stopped short of announcing any investigation or charges.  (Many time in the past, Goyal has attacked AMZN and WMT-backed Flipkart of actions that are detrimental to India’s brick-and-mortar stores.)  At the same time, the NHTSA announced a new recall of 9,100 Model X sport utilities over a roof trim that could separate.  (This is the second such recall over the same issue since 2020.)  Later, Reuters reported that the UK’s competition watchdog has now shutdown its existing investigations of AAPL and GOOGL related to their app stores.  Sources told Reuters the agency is waiting on new UK laws covering digital markets. 

Meanwhile, C told Reuters it has added a new section to its SEC quarterly reports in response to SEC queries.  (The SEC fined C $136 million for a lack of progress in fixing its data management issues in mid-July.)  Later, after the close, TD announced it expects to finalize a settlement of both civil and criminal money laundering investigations by the end of the calendar year.  In anticipation of fines and other non-monetary penalties, TD says it will take an additional $2.6 billion provision in its Q3 results.  Also after the close, DB announced it had reached settlements with more than half of the plaintiffs who had accused the bank of underpaying them related to the acquisition of Postbank years ago. (Details of the settlements weren’t disclosed.)

Overnight, Asian markets were mixed but leaned toward the green side.  Only five of the 12 exchanges in the region were in the red as Shenzhen (-0.82%) was by far the biggest loser.  On the other side, Hong Kong (+1.44%) and Japan (+0.68%) led the gainers.  In Europe, a much rosier picture is taking shape with just two spots of red among the 13 green bourses at midday.  The CAC (+0.22%), DAX (+0.30%), and FTSE (+0.18%) lead the region higher in early afternoon trade.  In the US, as of 7:30 a.m., Futures are pointing toward a modest green start to the morning. The DIA implies a +0.07% open, the SPY is implying a +0.21% open, and the QQQ implies a +0.32% open at this hour.  At the same time, 10-Year bond yields are up to 3.829% and Oil (WTI) is up half a percent to $72.29 per barrel in early trading.

The major economic news scheduled for Thursday include Weekly Initial Jobless Claims and Weekly Continuing Jobless Claims (both at 8:30 a.m.), S&P Global Mfg. PMI, S&P Global Services PMI, and S&P Global Composite PMI (all at 9:45 a.m.), July Existing Home Sales (10 a.m.), and the Fed Balance Sheet (4:30 p.m.).  The Jackson Hole Symposium also starts at 8 a.m.  The major earnings reports scheduled for before the open include AAP, BIDU, BILI, BJ, CSIQ, IQ, NTES, PTON, TD, VIK, and WSM. Then, after the close, BMA, INTU, ROST, and WDAY report. 

In economic news later this week, on Friday we get July Building Permits, and July New Home Sales.  The Jackson Hole Symposium also continues.

In terms of earnings reports later this week, on Friday, we hear from GFI.

So far this morning, BILI, BJ, BWLP, PTON, TD, and WB all reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines.  Meanwhile, BIDU and VIK missed on revenue while also beating on earnings.  On the other side, AAP and IQ beat on revenue while missing on earnings.  However, CSIQ and NTES missed on both the top and bottom lines.

With that background, we see some divergence in the premarket. DIA opened and has remained flat in the early session. Meanwhile, SPY gapped up slightly and has followed-through with a modest white-body candle in the premarket. However, the big mover was QQQ which gapped lower but was met with buying and has printed a large white-body candle without wick in the early session. All three remain well above their T-line (8ema) and the short-term trend is still strongly bullish. Meanwhile, the mid-term bearish trend is broken, though one could argue a new mid-term bullish trend has not formed yet (due to a lack of higher low in the strong run higher). In the long-term, we are now clearly back in a Bull trend. In terms of extension, as I mentioned all three are stretched to the upside relative to their T-line. The T2122 indicator has now back up in its overbought territory. So, again, the market needs a pullback or at least a rest to maintain a healthy trend. However, remember that the market can stay overextended a lot longer than we can stay solvent predicting a reversal. So, keep the mantra “follow, don’t lead, but also don’t chase” in mind. With regard to those 10 big dog tickers, nine of the 10 are in the green this morning, led by the biggest dog NVDA (+1.19%) while NFLX (-1.49%) is the lone laggard. It might be worth noting that NVDA has also traded five times the dollar-volume as the next largest trading stock this morning.

As always, be deliberate and disciplined…but don’t be stubborn. If you have a loss, admit you were wrong and take that loss before it gets out of hand. And when the price does move in your direction, always move your stops in your favor and take a little profit off the table. You have to keep the “Legend of the Man in the Green Bathrobe” in mind. In a winning situation, it is NOT HOUSE MONEY you’re betting, it’s YOUR MONEY! There is no reason to keep raising your bet (risk) size just because you’ve had a win. Finally, remember that trading is not a hobby, it’s a job. The gains are real and so is the risk. So, treat it that way. Do the work and follow the process. Stick to your trading rules, trade with the trend, and take those profits when you have them. Do the work!

See you in the trading room.

Ed

LTA Scanning Software
TC2000 Discount

🎯 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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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

TGT and M Both Beat But Give Poor Outlook

Markets were undecided on Tuesday.  SPY opened down 0.07%, DIA opened 0.12% lower, and QQQ opened down 0.16%.  At that point, SPY and QQQ rallied to recross their opening gap and reach the highs by 10 a.m. From there they sold off reaching the lows 45 minutes later and then bobbing along those lows until 1 p.m. when they rallied to recross the gap again by 2:25 p.m. and then recross it once more in a slow modest slide into the close.  For its part, DIA had a similar path for the day but with much less magnitude of waves.  This action gave us indecisive, black-bodied Doji-type candles in all three major index ETFs. It also gave us a higher high and a higher low than Monday by a lower open and close.  Again, this happened on well-below average volume in all three major index ETFs.

On the day, nine of the 10 sectors were in the red with Energy (-2.14%) a full 1.5% out in front of the other sectors leading markets lower.  On the other side, Healthcare (+0.05%) was the only sector in the green. Meanwhile, SPY lost 0.16%, DIA fell 0.13%, and QQQ lost 0.21%.  VXX popped 3.92% to close at 46.17 and T2122 dropped back out of the overbought territory to close in the top end of its mid-range at 70.83.  On the bond front, 10-year bond yields fell to 3.81% and Oil (WTI) dropped another 0.74% to close at $73.82 per barrel.  So, Tuesday was more of a rest and/or indecision day for traders as markets wandered around the small opening gap all day. By the closing bell, markets had small black bodies.  However, even at their extremes, none of the major index ETFs were more than half a percent from their Monday close.

The major economic news scheduled for Tuesday was limited to API Weekly Crude Oil Stocks after the close, which showed a 0.347-million-barrel inventory build (compared to a forecasted 2.800-million-barrel drawdown and well above the prior week’s 5.205-million-barrel drawdown). 

In Fed news, on Tuesday, Fed Governor Bowman (a hawk) told an Alaska Bankers conference that she is still cautious about changing Fed policy.  Bowman said, “it will become appropriate to gradually lower the federal funds rate to prevent monetary policy from becoming overly restrictive…”  However, she continued, “we need to be patient and avoid undermining continued progress on lowering inflation by overreacting to any single data point (apparently a reference to July’s 4.3% Unemployment value).”  Bowman noted doubts about data quality, saying “Increased measurement challenges and the frequency and extent of data revisions…make the task of assessing the current state of the economy…challenging.”  This led to her conclusion, “I will remain cautious in my approach to considering adjustments to the current stance of policy.”

After the close, KEYS, LZB, PAGS, and TOL reported beats on both the revenue and earnings line.  Meanwhile, ALC, JKHY and ZTO missed on revenue while beating on earnings.  However, COTY missed on both the top and bottom lines.

Click for video

In stock news, on Tuesday, the PARA takeover saga continued as a new suitor made his interest official, submitting a $4.3 billion bid via the acquisition of National Amusements.  Later, JNJ announced they have agreed to buy V-Wave (a heart failure treatment maker) for $600 million up front and potentially an additional $1.1 billion in milestone payments (based on the development of V-Wave’s treatments).  Meanwhile, GOOGL announced its Waymo robotaxi unit had doubled its “paid rides” to 100k per week over three months of operation.  (Not bad considering Waymo only has 700 of its robotic taxis.)  Meanwhile, WFC announced it had agreed to sell its “non-agency third-party Commercial Mortgage Servicing” unit to private firm Trimont.  The terms of the sale were not disclosed.  At the same time, STLA announced it was delayed its investment plans for Belvidere, IL.  This came after the UAW filed grievances Monday alleging STLA has violated the terms of its November 2023 contract.  STLA denied this charge.  After the close, MCHP announced it had detected potentially unauthorized activity on its network systems that had disrupted operations at come facilities.  (The activity was seen Aug. 17 and again on Aug. 19.)  The company said it is working to bring all of its systems back online.  Also after the close, BBAI (and AI company) announced it had won a contract of up to $2.4 billion over 10 years with the FAA.

In stock legal and governmental news, on Tuesday, the EU announced it would slash its previously announced additional tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China. For example, TSLA will pay an additional 9% tariff (much lower than the previously-announced 20.8%).  These “punitive duties” are on top of the EU’s standard 10% tariff on imported cars.  The European Commission said that the changes come after it had verified the Chinese government subsidies EV companies had received.  At the same time, the FDA approved JNJ’s “chemotherapy-free” combination treatment for a type of non-small cell lung cancer.  (This puts the JNJ treatment in competition with AZN’s blockbuster drug Tagrisso.)  Later, DIS backed down in the face of heavy bad publicity and announced it will drop its motion to dismiss a lawsuit.  Previously, DIS claimed that a user agreement accepted for a 2019 free trial of DIS+ streaming service prevented a FL widower from suing over the wrongful death of his wife.  (His wife died from allergic reaction to food served at a DIS restaurant in 2023, after the couple had informed the restaurant of the allergy and the restaurant claimed to accommodate food allergies.) Instead of forced arbitration, DIS now says the case can be decided in court. 

Elsewhere, the Dept. of Transportation announced the ALK acquisition of HA had been cleared by the Justice Dept. and was now under DOT review.  Later, the NHTSA announced BMWYY (BMW) is recalling 721k vehicles over electrical short-circuit risk due to a faulty water pump connector seal.  At the same time, the FAA has formally required the inspection of all BA 787 Dreamliner jets over the five recent “mid-air dive” reports that have been tied to pilot seat adjustment turning off the autopilot.  Later, the UK competition watchdog agency announced it had accepted META’s proposed changes to the way it uses customer’s data in advertising.  At the same time, a US Appeals Court revived a lawsuit against GOOGL.  The class-action suit alleges that GOOGL continued to collect personal data of Chrome browser users after they chose not to synchronize their browser to Google accounts.

After the close, WBD pledged to spend at least $8.5 billion to produce movies and TV shows in Las Vegas after the company received a tax incentive package.  Finally, a TX Trump-appointed federal judge struck down the FTC ban on most non-compete agreements required for employees.  (The same judge had temporarily blocked the ban in July.)  The ruling said the FTC does not have the authority to ban practices it deems as unfair competition methods, even though the agency was tasked by Congress is enforcing federal antitrust laws.  (Appeals will very likely follow, but with the uber-Republican SCOTUS, the odds of the bans coming back into effect are long at best.)

Overnight, Asian markets were mixed again as seven of the 12 regional exchanges were in the red.  Taiwan (-0.85%) and Hong Kong (-0.69%) paced the losses while Thailand (+0.73%) was by far the biggest gainer.  However, in Europe, we see green across the board at midday.  The CAC (+0.42%), DAX (+0.48%), and FTSE (+0.17%) lead the region higher in early afternoon trade.  In the US, as of 7:30 a.m., Futures are pointing toward a modestly green start to the morning.  The DIA implies a +0.14% open, the SPY is implying a +0.19% open, and the QQQ implies a +0.22% open at this hour.  At the same time, 10-Year bond yields are at 3.822% and Oil (WTI) is up by a fraction to $73.31 per barrel in early trading.

The major economic news scheduled for Wednesday is limited to EIA Weekly Crude Oil Inventories (10:30 a.m.) and July FOMC Meeting Minutes (2 p.m.).  The major earnings reports scheduled for before the open include ADI, DY, M, TGT, TJX, and ZK.  Then, after the close, A, CAAP, LU, NDSN, SNOW, SNPS, URBN, and ZM report.

In economic news later this week, on Thursday, Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, Weekly Continuing Jobless Claims, S&P Global Mfg. PMI, S&P Global Services PMI, S&P Global Composite PMI, July Existing Home Sales, and the Fed Balance Sheet are reported.  The Jackson Hole Symposium also starts.  Finally, on Friday we get July Building Permits, and July New Home Sales.  The Jackson Hole Symposium also continues.

In terms of earnings reports later this week, on Thursday, AAP, BIDU, BILI, BJ, CSIQ, IQ, NTES, PTON, TD, VIK, BMA, INTU, ROST, and WDAY report.  Finally, on Friday, we hear from GFI.

So far this morning, ADI, DY, M, and TGT have all reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines.  Meanwhile, ZK missed (massive miss) on revenue while staying in line on earnings (still a loss).

In miscellaneous news, on Tuesday, a research report from CBRE said that the North American datacenter capacity has jumped 70% in the last year due to the AI craze. The electrical demand of datacenters alone now stands at 3.9 gigawatts.  The report said more than 500 megawatts of new datacenter demand went online in just the eight largest US markets in the first half of 2024.  (For reference, that 500 megawatts adding in H1 was roughly equivalent to the entire data center capacity of Silicon Valley at the end of 2023.)  Elsewhere, the SEC approved (along party lines with GOP-appointed members fighting the move) the new rules proposed in June that will allow the Public Company Accountancy Oversight to hold employees, partners, contractors, and others to be held accountable for negligence if audits are found to be in violation (fraudulent).  Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported Tuesday evening that the “Carry Trade” is back on but in reverse.  For many years, investors borrowed Yen in Japan at almost non-existent interest rates and “carried the money” to the US to invest in higher-yielding vehicles.  With July’s Japanese rate hike and the fall in the Dollar, traders are now borrowing Dollars to put into Japanese investments.  The idea is that speculators are betting that Japan will increase rates more and the US sill start cutting rates next month.  (I’m not sure I buy that reporting given the relative differences in US and Japanese interest rates even after Japan’s July hike.  Nonetheless, that is what Bloomberg reports.)

With that background, markets seem to be resting or indecisive again this morning. All three major index ETFs made a very modest gap higher to open the premarket, Since that point they have traded indecisively but have small white body Spinning Top candles at this time of the early session. With that said, all three remains far above their T-line (8ema) and the short-term trend is still strongly bullish. Meanwhile, the mid-term bearish trend is broken, though one could argue a new mid-term bullish trend has not formed yet (due to a lack of higher low in the run). In the long-term, we are now clearly back in a Bull trend. In terms of extension, as I mentioned all three are stretched to the upside relative to their T-line. However, the T2122 indicator has now pulled back out of its overbought territory into the top part of its mid-range. So, the market does still need a pullback or at least a rest. However, Tuesday’s candle helped some. Just remember that the market can stay overextended a lot longer than we can stay solvent predicting a reversal. So, keep the mantra “follow, don’t lead, but also don’t chase” in mind. With regard to those 10 big dog tickers, six of them are in the green, led by AMZN (+0.69%) while GOOGL (-0.60%) is the laggard. However, the biggest dog (in terms of dollar-volume traded), is NVDA (-0.01%) followed by TSLA (-0.07%), which are both undecided this morning.

As always, be deliberate and disciplined…but don’t be stubborn. If you have a loss, admit you were wrong and take that loss before it gets out of hand. And when the price does move in your direction, always move your stops in your favor and take a little profit off the table. You have to keep the “Legend of the Man in the Green Bathrobe” in mind. In a winning situation, it is NOT HOUSE MONEY you’re betting, it’s YOUR MONEY! There is no reason to keep raising your bet (risk) size just because you’ve had a win. Finally, remember that trading is not a hobby, it’s a job. The gains are real and so is the risk. So, treat it that way. Do the work and follow the process. Stick to your trading rules, trade with the trend, and take those profits when you have them. Do the work!

See you in the trading room.

Ed

LTA Scanning Software
TC2000 Discount

🎯 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 PlansPrivate 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

LOW Lowers Guidance, Fed Speakers Ahead

Markets started Monday in a flat manner.  SPY opened +0.08%, DIA opened up 0.13%, and QQQ opened just 0.01% higher.  From there, all three major index ETFs ground sideways for the better part of an hour.  At that point, all three saw a major volatility event with a 5-minute crash down followed immediately by a 5-minute spike right back up.  Then the Bulls took over, leading a steady rally for the rest of the day with a bullish spike the last 10 minutes in SPY and QQQ.  For its part, DIA’s rally died out at 1 p.m., after which it ground sideways with a modestly bearish trend the rest of the day until it too had a Bull spike the last 10 minutes. This action gave us large white-bodied candles in all three major index ETFs.  SPY and QQQ ended the day on the highs while DIA had a small upper wick.  This happened on well-below average volume in all three major index ETFs.

On the day, all 10 sectors were in the green with Healthcare (+1.98%) well out in front followed by Technology (+1.37%) leading the way higher. On the other side, Consumer Defensive (+0.43%) being the lagging sector.  Meanwhile, SPY gained 0.96%, DIA was up 0.58%, and QQQ gained 1.31%.  VXX fell another 1.44% to close at 44.43 and T2122 jumped back up into the top end of its overbought territory at 96.23.  On the bond front, 10-year bond yields fell to 3.875% and Oil (WTI) dropped 2.86% to close at $74.46 per barrel.  So, Monday was a less volatile but also quite bullish day as traders could not justify bearish trades, but were also afraid to pile in (with heavy volume) on the long side either.  It is worth noting that SPY and DIA closed less than one percent below their all-time high closes.  However, QQQ closed still 4.5% below its all-time high close.  Interestingly, an equal-weighted version of the SPY (where all stocks have the same weight as AAPL) hit a new all-time high Monday.

The major economic news scheduled for Monday was limited to the July US Leading Economic indicators Index, which came in below expectations at -0.6% (compared to a forecast of -0.4% and a June reading of -0.2%).  

In Fed news, on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari said it was appropriate to discuss potentially cutting interest rates at the FOMC meeting in September.  The article quoted Kashkari as saying, “The balance of risks has shifted, so the debate about potentially cutting rates in September is an appropriate one to have.”  The WSJ went on to say that Kashkari indicated progress has been made on inflation but the labor market has shown some “concerning signs.”  The article quoted him as saying, “I’m still unclear how tight policy is, but the balance of risks in my view have shifted more towards the labor market and away from the inflation side of our dual mandate.”   Elsewhere, Fed Governor Waller did not comment on the economy or monetary policy.  However, he did address say the Fed is looking into the financial stability risks related to stablecoins and non-bank holders.

After the close, FN and PANW reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines.  It is worth noting that FN raised forward guidance while PANW lowered its guidance.

Click for video

In stock news, on Monday, Reuters reported that LUV has started a campaign to fight off Elliott Investment Management’s attempt to replace two-thirds of its board members as a prelude to ousting the CEO and the LUV board Chairman.  (Elliott did the same thing at SBUX in the past.)  In a letter to employees, (seeking union and individual employee shareholder support) CEO Jordan said “Don’t be fooled – this is a battle for the heart of our company and our future – your future.”  At the same time, Reuters reported that APA is exploring the sale of its Permian Basis oil and gas properties for roughly $1 billion.  The article said APA has retained two investment banks to help facilitate a sale.  Later, Reuters also reported that ANCTF (operator of the Circle-K convenience stores) has made a preliminary takeover bid for SVNDF (large Japanese 7-Eleven store operator) for roughly $38 billion. 

Elsewhere, GM laid off 1,000 salaried software and services unit employees globally on Monday.  (Roughly 600 of those jobs are located in MI with the rest spread around the world.)  Later, the UAW union said it was filing a number of grievances against STLA and could launch a nationwide strike against the automaker.  The UAW says STLA is not honoring the production (job) commitments it has made in later-2023 contract negotiations.  After the close, GPRO announced it will cut about 15% of its workforce (only 139 jobs) as it seeks to restructure.  At the same time, Reuters reported that BA has grounded its test fleet of 777X jets after inspections found a failure of the engine mounting structure.

In stock legal and governmental news, on Monday, the US State Department approved the sale of $100 million of Javelin missiles (produced by GD) to Australia.  Later, KR sued the FTC seeking to block the regulator from reviewing its proposed $25 billion acquisition of ACI.  In the suit, KR alleges that the FTC is unconstitutional.  After the close, Reuters reported that two dozen state Attorney’s General have amended their lawsuit against LYV.  The new filing shows that the AGs are looking for three times the damages incurred for each customer in the suit they filed in May.  In related news, 10 more states joined the lawsuit Monday, bringing the total to 36 plus the District of Columbia. 

Elsewhere, also after the close, PPC agreed to pay $100 million to settle claims it had conspired with rivals to reduce the pay given to chicken farmers.  (TSN, SAFM, and others had previously settled the same case for much lower amounts.)  At the same time, the FAA issued a airworthiness directive for BA 787 jets after receiving five reports of sudden mid-flight dives.  (The dives were found to be related to movement of the captain’s seat disconnecting the autopilot without notice.)  Meanwhile, IEP and its CEO Carl Icahn settled charges from the SEC of operating a “Ponzi-like scheme.”  In the settlement, IEP agreed to pay $2 million.

Overnight, Asian markets were mixed with five of the 12 exchanges in the red.  Japan (+1.80%) was by far the biggest gainer while Shenzhen (-1.25%) and Shanghai (-0.93%) paced the losses.  In Europe, the picture is a little more red with only four of the 15 bourses in the green at midday.  The CAC (+0.09%), DAX (-0.07%), and FTSE (-0.70%) are leading the region lower in early afternoon trade.  Meanwhile, in the US, as of 7:30 a.m., Futures are pointing toward a mixed and flat start to the morning.  The DIA implies a -0.04% open, the SPY is implying a +0.09% open, and the QQQ implies a +0.11% open at this hour.  At the same time, 10-Year bond yields are at 3.873% and Oil (WTI) is just on the green side of flat at $74.42 per barrel in early trading.

The major economic news scheduled for Tuesday is limited to API Weekly Crude Oil Stocks (4:30 p.m.). Fed members Bostic (1:35 p.m.) and Vice Chair Barr (2:45 p.m.) also speak.  The major earnings reports scheduled for before the open are is limited to RERE, AS, FUTU, HTHT, LOW, MDT, VIPS, and XPEV.  Then, after the close, ALC, SQM, COTY, JKHY, KEYS, LZB, PAGS, TOL, and ZTO report.

In economic news later this week, on Wednesday, we get EIA Weekly Crude Oil Inventories and July FOMC Meeting Minutes. One Thursday, Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, Weekly Continuing Jobless Claims, S&P Global Mfg. PMI, S&P Global Services PMI, S&P Global Composite PMI, July Existing Home Sales, and the Fed Balance Sheet are reported.  The Jackson Hole Symposium also starts.  Finally, on Friday we get July Building Permits, and July New Home Sales.  The Jackson Hole Symposium also continues.

In terms of earnings reports later this week, on Wednesday we hear from, ADI, DY, M, TGT, TJX, ZK, A, CAAP, LU, NDSN, SNOW, SNPS, URBN, and ZM.  On Thursday, AAP, BIDU, BILI, BJ, CSIQ, IQ, NTES, PTON, TD, VIK, BMA, INTU, ROST, and WDAY report.  Finally, on Friday, we hear from GFI.

So far this morning, AS, FUTU, and MDT reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines.  Meanwhile, LOW and XPEV missed on revenue while beating on earnings.  On the other side, VIPS beat on revenue while missing on earnings.  It is worth noting that LOW also lowered its forward guidance.

In miscellaneous news, on Monday, major US freight-forwarder CHRW announced it has begun to divert some US customer ocean cargo away from Canadian ports.  This is being done in anticipation of a Canadian rale strike as soon as August 22.  (Much of ocean cargo continues its journey on rail prior to switching to truck for the last leg of delivery.)  Elsewhere, GS analysts cautioned their clients that next week’s US Non-Farm Payroll data revision is likely to overstate labor market weakness.  GS suggests the overstatement will be due to the quarterly census of Employment which does not account for employment of illegal immigrants.  Secondly, GS says even if it did take immigrants into account, that this census is consistently revised upwardly later.  All told, GS believes the revision will be 300k-500k jobs too low.

With that background, it looks like traders are uncertain early this morning. All three major index ETFs gapped up modestly to start the premarket. However, all three have also sold back down printing small black-body candles in the early session. With that said, all three are still far above their T-line (8ema) and the short-term trend is clearly strongly bullish. Meanwhile, the mid-term bearish trend is broken, though one could argue a new mid-term bullish trend has not formed yet (due to a lack of higher low in the run). In the long-term, we are now clearly back in a Bull trend. In terms of extension, as I mentioned all three are stretched to the upside relative to their T-line. At the same time, the T2122 indicator is now in the top half of its overbought territory. So, the market is in need of a pullback or at least a rest. Just remember that the market can stay overextended a lot longer than we can stay solvent predicting a reversal. So, keep the mantra “follow, don’t lead, but also don’t chase” in mind. With regard to those 10 big dog tickers, seven of them are in the green, led by AMD (+1.10%) again. However, the biggest dog (in terms of dollar-volume traded), is NVDA (-0.39%), which is leading the losers in that group lower.

As always, be deliberate and disciplined…but don’t be stubborn. If you have a loss, admit you were wrong and take that loss before it gets out of hand. And when the price does move in your direction, always move your stops in your favor and take a little profit off the table. You have to keep the “Legend of the Man in the Green Bathrobe” in mind. In a winning situation, it is NOT HOUSE MONEY you’re betting, it’s YOUR MONEY! There is no reason to keep raising your bet (risk) size just because you’ve had a win. Finally, remember that trading is not a hobby, it’s a job. The gains are real and so is the risk. So, treat it that way. Do the work and follow the process. Stick to your trading rules, trade with the trend, and take those profits when you have them. Do the work!

See you in the trading room.

Ed

LTA Scanning Software
TC2000 Discount

🎯 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.

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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

US-China Deal and AMD Buys Server Maker

On Friday, the Bulls closed out a strong week with modest gain.  SPY gapped down 0.32%, DIA gapped down 0.23%, and QQQ gapped +0.39%.  Next, all three major index ETFs meandered back and forth across the gap until 11:30 a.m.  From there, all three rallied briskly until 1 p.m.  The rest of the day saw a slow and weak pullback. This action gave us white-bodied candles with modest upper wicks in the SPY, DIA and QQQ.  During the day, QQQ retested and held above its 50sma.  This happened on very low volume in the SPY and QQQ as well as below-average volume in the DIA.

On the day, nine of the 10 sectors were in the green again with Financial Services (+0.78%) and Communication Services (+0.72%) leading the way higher.  On the other side, Industrials (-0.01%) was the only sector in the red (barely).  Meanwhile, SPY was up 0.22%, DIA gained 0.21%, and QQQ gained 0.13%.  VXX fell slightly to close at 45.23 and T2122 also pulled back just a bit to stay in the overbought territory at 86.11.  On the bond front, 10-year bond yields fell to 3.883% and Oil (WTI) dropped 2.00% to close at $76.60 per barrel.  So, Friday was a less volatile but bullish day as traders got ready for the weekend.

For the week, SPY gained 4.00%, DIA gained 2.93%, and QQQ gained 5.47%.  This was the best weekly performance for the year in all three.  All three major index ETFs also crossed above their Weekly T-line (8ema).  In addition, DIA also closed at a new weekly high close.

The major economic news scheduled for Friday included July Building Permits, which came in light at 1.396 million (compared to a forecast of 1.430 million and a June value of 1.454 million).  At the same time, July Housing Starts also were light at 1.238 million (versus the 1.340 million forecast and June’s 1.329 million reading).  Later, Michigan Consumer Sentiment was better than predicted at 67.8 (compared to the 66.7 estimate and July’s 66.4 number).  At the same time, Michigan Consumer Expectations were even more positive at 72.1 (versus the 68.5 forecast and July’s 68.8 value).  On the inflation front, Michigan 1-Year Inflation Expectations were flat at 2.9% (compared to a forecasted 2.8% but in-line with July’s 2.9% reading).  For the longer-term, Michigan 5-Year Inflation Expectations were also flat at 3.0% (versus a 2.9% forecast and the July 3.0% survey result).   

In Fed news, on Friday, Chicago Fed President Goolsbee told NPR that he is leaning toward rate cuts at this point.  Goolsbee said, “You don’t want to tighten any longer than you have to…and the reason you’d want to tighten is if you’re afraid the economy is overheating, and this is not what an overheating economy looks like to me.”  He did decline to say whether he thought that first cut should be in September.  However, he said, “If we move toward less restrictiveness, it will help ease some of these credit conditions.”  He then went on to say that he thinks credit conditions appear tight now and he flagged rising unemployment as a “warning sign.”  In the end though, Goolsbee signaled his support for a gradual (rather than fast) pace to rate cute.  Analysts took this to mean he would support a quarter percent cut rather than a half percent.

In stock news, on Friday, UBS announced it will divest its Quantitative Investment Strategies unit to private Manteio Partners for an undisclosed amount.  (The QIS unit manages about $1.5 billion in quant funds.)   Later, RIVN said it has temporarily halted production of AMZN delivery vans due to a shortage of parts.  (AMZN is RIVN’s largest investor, holding a 16% stake.)  Meanwhile, MA announced it will cut 3% of its global headcount (about 1,000 jobs being cut) by the end of September.  Later, Reuters reported that BA and LMT are in talks to sell their ULA rocket-launching joint venture to Sierra Space for between $2 billion and $3 billion.  At the same time, CNBC reported on noise complaint issues made against AMZN related to its air drone delivery program in College Station, TX.  The latest complaints come after AMZN asked for approval to expand its air deliveries in the city from 200 to 470 flights per day and expanding hours of air operations to 7a.m. – 10 p.m. (AMZN drones create up to 60 decibels of noise, which is half that of a chainsaw and more than one-third less than heavy equipment according to OSHA.)

Click for video

In stock legal and governmental news, on Friday, the US Dept. of Commerce said that TXN will receive $1.6 billion towards the construction of three new facilities under funding approved by the CHIPS Act.  At the same time, shareholders of formerly acquired German Postbank rejected a settlement offer from DB.  An attorney for the shareholders said the proposal was a “crackhead offer that was dead on arrival.” Later, GSK said it would seek dismissal of an upcoming lawsuit related to Zantac causing cancer.  The move followed Thursday’s court ruling in favor of GSK.  At the same time, a US Appeals Court threw out Dept. of Transportation safety standards for pipeline operators.  (The case was brought by the Natural Gas Assn. of America who argued the Hazardous Materials standards do not provide sufficient benefits to outweigh the costs they would incur to comply.)  At the same time, the NHTSA announced that F is recalling 85k Explorer SUVs equipped with the “Police Interceptor” package due to risks of engine fire.  The recall covers 2020-2022 model years. 

Elsewhere, a federal appeals court narrowed an injunction that blocked enforcement of a CA law aimed at protecting children’s online safety.  The court ruled that while the group suing to stop the law is likely to show the law violates the first amendment, but that the lower court failed to recognize than many provisions of the law could survive after removing first amendment concerns.  (AMZN, GOOGL, and META are the hallmark members of the group that sued.)  At the same time, the State Dept. approved the same of $264 million of RTX missiles to Canada.  Later, the FTC filed suit against ABG, alleging that its dealerships charged Black and Latino customers higher prices and routinely added services to customer contracts without consent.  Meanwhile, Reuters reported that unsealed documents from a TX court showed that TPX’s proposed $4 billion takeover of Mattress Firm was “intended to eliminate future competition.”  At the same time, a US District Judge temporarily blocked the launch of a sports streaming service (joint venture) from DIS, FOX, and WBD based on antitrust claims from smaller rival FUBO.

Overnight, Asian markets were mostly green as only three of the 12 exchanges were left showing red.  Japan (-1.77%) was the biggest mover in the region while Thailand (+1.56%) and Malaysia (+1.53%) paced the gains.  In Europe, we see a similar picture taking shape.  Only three of the 15 bourses are in the red and a couple of those are barely red.  The CAC (+0.34%), DAX (+0.15%), and FTSE (-0.04%) lead the region higher in early afternoon trade.  In the US, as of 7:30 a.m., Futures are pointing toward a flat start to the morning.  The DIA implies a -0.02% open, the SPY is implying a +0.01% open, and the QQQ implies a -0.02% open at this hour.  At the same time, 10-Year bond yields at down to 3.875% and Oil (WTI) is off three-quarters of a percent to $76.08 per barrel in early trading.

The major economic news scheduled for Monday is limited to US Leading Economic indicators Index (10 a.m.)  We also hear from Fed Governor Waller (9:15 a.m.).  The major earnings reports scheduled for before the open are is limited to EL and ZIM. Then, after the close, FN and PANW report.

In economic news later this week, on Tuesday, API Weekly Crude Oil Stocks are reported. Fed members Bostic and Barr also speak.  Then Wednesday, we get EIA Weekly Crude Oil Inventories and July FOMC Meeting Minutes. One Thursday, Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, Weekly Continuing Jobless Claims, S&P Global Mfg. PMI, S&P Global Services PMI, S&P Global Composite PMI, July Existing Home Sales, and the Fed Balance Sheet are reported.  The Jackson Hole Symposium also starts.  Finally, on Friday we get July Building Permits, and July New Home Sales.  The Jackson Hole Symposium also continues.

In terms of earnings reports later this week, on Tuesday, RERE, AS, FUTU, HTHT, LOW, MDT, VIPS, XPEV, ALC, SQM, COTY, JKHY, KEYS, LZB, PAGS, TOL, and ZTO report.  Then Wednesday we hear from, ADI, DY, M, TGT, TJX, ZK, A, CAAP, LU, NDSN, SNOW, SNPS, URBN, and ZM.  On Thursday, AAP, BIDU, BILI, BJ, CSIQ, IQ, NTES, PTON, TD, VIK, BMA, INTU, ROST, and WDAY report.  Finally, on Friday, we hear from GFI.

So far this morning, EL and ZIM reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines.

In late-breaking news, AMD announced Monday that it will acquire server manufacturer ZT Systems for $4.9 billion (75% cash and 25% stock).  This is part of the move toward offering total AI solutions rather than just selling AI Chips or AI processing cards.  The industry move is toward being able to sell entire AI computing server racks to corporate clients at a higher margin.  Elsewhere, China announced it had made a deal with the US to cooperate on matters of financial stability after talks in Shanghai last week.  The PBOC (Chinese Central Bank) said the deal covers capital markets, cross-border payments, and the two country’s monetary policy.  A statement on the deal from the US Treasury, SEC, and Fed (agencies that participated in the talks from the US) as well as the details are not yet available.  However, the belief is that the talks were aimed at heading off any global systemic risk such as from the volatile and stressed Chinese bond markets.

With that background, all three major index ETFs are just on the green side of flat at the moment. For what it is worth, all three have printed small, white-body candles with lower wicks at this point. All three are still extended above their T-line (8ema) and the short-term trend is clearly strongly bullish. Meanwhile, the mid-term bearish trend is broken, though one could argue a new mid-term bullish trend has not formed yet. In the long-term, we are now clearly back in a Bull trend. In terms of extension, as I mentioned all three are stretched to the upside relative to their T-line. At the same time, the T2122 indicator is now in the lower half of its overbought territory. So, the market is in need of a rest or pullback. With that said, remember the market can remain overextended a lot longer than we can stay solvent predicting a reversal. So, keep the mantra “follow, don’t lead, but also don’t chase” in mind. With regard to those 10 big dog tickers, six of them are in the green, led by AMD (+1.98%). However, the biggest dog (in terms of dollar-volume traded), is down with NVDA (-0.14%) among the laggards.

As always, be deliberate and disciplined…but don’t be stubborn. If you have a loss, admit you were wrong and take that loss before it gets out of hand. And when the price does move in your direction, always move your stops in your favor and take a little profit off the table. You have to keep the “Legend of the Man in the Green Bathrobe” in mind. In a winning situation, it is NOT HOUSE MONEY you’re betting, it’s YOUR MONEY! There is no reason to keep raising your bet (risk) size just because you’ve had a win. Finally, remember that trading is not a hobby, it’s a job. The gains are real and so is the risk. So, treat it that way. Do the work and follow the process. Stick to your trading rules, trade with the trend, and take those profits when you have them. Do the work!

See you in the trading room.

Ed

LTA Scanning Software
TC2000 Discount

🎯 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 PlansPrivate 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

Market Flat Early At End Of Strong Week

Markets gapped strongly higher Thursday and then followed through slowly the rest of the day.  SPY gapped up 1.05%, DIA gapped up 1.17%, and QQQ gapped up 1.35%.  From there, all three major index ETFs rallied until 12:30 p.m.  At that point pulled back slightly for 30 minutes and then resumed its rally until 3:45 p.m.  Only late-day profit-taking the last 15 minutes kept us from closing at the highs.  This action gave us gap-up, white-bodied candles in all three major index ETFs.  DIA printed a gap-up, white-bodied, Spinning Top.  Meanwhile, SPY and QQQ both gave us gap-up, white-bodied, large-body candles with small wicks on both ends.  (Bear in mind, that SPY is up 8.5% in nine days, QQQ is up 12% over that time, and slow, plodding DIA is up 5.5% in the same span.)  This all happened on just under average volume in all three of the major index ETFs.

On the day, nine of the 10 sectors were green with Consumer Cyclical (+2.69%) and Technology (+2.46%) out in front leading the gainers higher.  At the same time, Communication Services (-0.35%) was the only sector in the red and more than 0.50% worse-performing than the next most lagging sector.  Meanwhile, SPY gained 1.71%, DIA gained 1.45%, and QQQ gained 2.53%.  VXX fell another 3.82% to close at 45.34 and T2122 climbed into the overbought territory at 89.26.  On the bond front, 10-year bond yields spiked to 3.923% and Oil (WTI) gained 1.30% to close at $77.98 per barrel.  So, Thursday was the Bulls’ day from the 8:30 a.m. data drop onward.  SPY and QQQ crossed back above their 50sma.  However, all three major index ETFs are now quite stretched above their T-line (8ema) indicating the need for rest, pullback, and/or profit-taking.

The major economic news scheduled for Thursday included Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, which came in lower than expected at 227k (compared to a 236k forecast and the prior week’s 234k).  In terms of ongoing unemployment, the Weekly Continuing Jobless Claims were also down a bit at 1,864k (versus the 1,880k forecast and the prior week’s 1,871k).  At the same time, July Core Retail Sales were down a tick, but much better than expected at +0.4% (compared to the +0.1% forecast and the June +0.5% reading).  On the headline number, July Retail Sales were very strong at +1.0% (versus a forecast of +0.4% and much stronger than June’s -0.2% value).  In terms of manufacturing, the NY Empire State Mfg. Index was bad but better than predicted at -4.70 (compared to a -5.90 forecast and the July -6.60 number).  Down the road, the Philly Fed Mfg. Index was worse than anticipated at -7.0 (versus a +5.4 forecast and down sharply from July’s 13.9 reading). 

In terms of Manufacturing employment, the Philly Fed Mfg. Employment Index was -5.7 (down from July’s 13.9 value).  On the trade front, the July Export Price Index showed an increase of 0.7% month-to-month (compared to 0.0% forecast and June’s -0.3%).  At the same time, July Import Price Index was up a tick +0.1% (versus a forecast of -0.1% and June’s 0.0% number). Later, July Industrial Production was down to -0.6% (compared to a -0.3% forecast and June’s +0.3%). Later, June Business Inventories came in as expected at +0.3% (versus a +0.3% forecast and a May +0.5% reading).  At the same time, June Retail Inventories were also as predicted at +0.2% (compared to the +0.2% forecast and up a touch from May’s 0.0% value).  Later, June TIC Net Long-Term Transactions showed a large increase to +$96.1 billion (versus a +$56.3 billion forecast and well up from May’s -$54.1 billion reading.  Finally, after the close, the Fed Balance Sheet showed a small expansion for the week to $7.178 trillion from the prior week’s $7.175 trillion.

In Fed news, on Thursday St. Louis Fed President Musalem indicated he was more open to a rate cut than before.  Speaking in KY, Musalem said his confidence (that inflation is going down) was bolstered by recent data.  He continued, “It now appears the balance of risks on inflation and unemployment has shifted … the time may be nearing when an adjustment to moderately restrictive policy may be appropriate.”  At the same time, in a Financial Times interview, Atlanta Fed President Bostic said he is now open to a rate cut in September (the opposite of his public expressions recently).  Bostic said, “Now that inflation is coming into range, we have to look at the other side of the mandate, and there, we’ve seen the unemployment rate rise considerably off of its lows.”  He continued, “…and so I’m open to something happening in terms of us moving before the fourth quarter.” Later, Philly Fed President Harker told an economic conference that a rate cut is the next step for monetary policy and the timing may be getting closer.  However, he hedged on when that might take place.  In response to a question implying an intra-meeting cut, Harker said, “I believe that we may be in the position to see the rate decrease this year … But I would caution anyone from looking for it right now and right away.”

Click for video

After the close, AMAT, COHR, GLOB, HRB, and LNVGY all reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines.  Meanwhile, AMCR missed on revenue while beating on earnings.

In stock news, on Thursday, LMT announced it has agreed to acquire LLAP for $450 million.  Later, GOOGL announced it is expanding its AI-generated summaries of searches to six new countries two months after first rolling out the feature.  In addition to the US (where the feature has been available since May), Brazil, India, Japan, Mexico and Britain now have access to AI summaries.  After the close, KR announced plans to cut prices by $1 billion after its $25 billion acquisition of ACI closes.  (KR had previously promised $500 million in lower prices across all acquired ACI locations.)

In stock legal and governmental news, on Thursday, CVX agreed to pay $550 million to Richmond, CA in a settlement.  The deal will see CVX buy the city’s withdrawal of a November ballot initiative that would have sought a tax on refineries in the city. (CVX has a refinery that produces 250k barrels per day inside the city limits.)  Later, the FDA laid out new stricter goals for sodium content of packaged foods. In the announcement, the FDA said it was seeking “voluntary curbs” from packaged food makers like PEP, KHC, and CPB.  However, fast-food chains such as MCD, QSR (Burger King), and YUM would also be on the hook.  The cuts, with a goal of within three years, would cut sodium to 20% below the 2021 levels. 

Elsewhere, TEL agreed to pay a $5.8 million fine to the Dept. of Commerce for illegally shipping electronics components to China.  Later, the State Dept. approved a $5 billion sale of LMT’s Patriot missiles to Germany.  In Canada, the national government rejected the request from CNI (Canadian National Railway) for imposed binding arbitration between the railroad and its Teamster Union employees.  (The railroad, along with CP, have said they will lock out employees starting August 22 to avoid an employee strike.)  At the same time, a second federal court (this on in FL) has blocked the FTC ban on worker noncompete agreements.  Later, a federal judge in CA ruled that PEP can be sued over marketing for its Gatorade Protein bars.  (The bars have more sugar than protein, which is more typical of candy bars than protein bars.)  At the same time, STLA shareholders filed suit against the company, alleging fraud under the accusation the company concealed rising inventories and sales weakness prior to the company’s July 25 earnings report. 

Meanwhile, in CA, Governor Newsom proposed a plan requiring refiners in the state to maintain minimum reserves of gasoline.  The measure, aimed at curbing gas prices is aimed at a situation where the states refiners had less than a 15-day supply of gas in inventory 63 days in 2023. (A study found that prices spiked when refiners let inventory fall because they were taking refineries offline to increase prices.)  Later, BAYRY (Bayer) won a legal fight Thursday when the US 3rd-Ciruit Court of Appeals rejected a claim by a PA landscraper which alleged the company’s Roundup weedkiller did not carry a warning label and caused his cancer sue to repeated and prolonged use.  The court ruled that federal law protects the German parent company from liability from state laws requiring a cancer label.

Overnight, Asian markets were nearly all green.  Only Shenzhen (-0.24%) was in the red while Japan (+3.64%), Taiwan (+2.07%), South Korea (+1.99%), and Hong Kong (+1.88%) led broad and strong gains.  In Europe, the picture is more mixed with six of 15 exchanges in the red.  The CAC (+0.18%), DAX (+0.52%), and FTSE (-0.46%) lead the region in early afternoon trade.  Meanwhile, in the US, as of 7:30 a.m., Futures are pointing toward a start just on the red side of flat.  The DIA implies a -0.08% open, the SPY is implying a -0.11% open, and the QQQ implies a -0.02% open at this hour.  At the same time, 10-Year bond yields are down to 3.873% and Oil (WTI) is off  2.83% to $75.96 per barrel in early trading.

The major economic news scheduled for Friday includes July Building Permits and July Housing Starts (both at 8:30 a.m.), and then Michigan Consumer Sentiment, Michigan Consumer Expectations, Michigan 1-Year Inflation Expectations, and Michigan 5-Year Inflation Expectations (all at 10 a.m.)  The major earnings reports scheduled for before the open is limited to FLO.  There are not reports scheduled for after the close.

So far this morning, missed on revenue while beating on earnings.

In miscellaneous news, on Thursday, GS lowered its Q3 GDP forecast from 2.6% to 2.4% after disappointing industrial production data for July.  Elsewhere, Bloomberg reported Thursday that GS is telling clients it expects a rally based on the return of so-called systematic funds.  These funds had made the largest dollar-volume selling since the pandemic over the past month, based on volatility index signals.  However, now the VIX has returned to the levels seen in May-July in the last week, those funds are and will be returning to the buy-side.  Meanwhile, Bloomberg also reported that ADSK is likely to face legal action.  It reported internal documents from ADSK that said the company had continued using the sales strategy of offering deep discounts on multi-year deals to corporate customers who pay up front. The company pledged to investors to stop using the tactic in 2021, but internal documents say the company has continued using the strategy in order to pull forward cashflow and meet short-term financial goals.

In late-breaking news, WMT raised its guidance for the full year citing steady consumer health and the relative strength of the overall economy. WMT CFO Rainey said, “…our members and customers…remain choiceful, discerning, value-seeking, focusing on things like essentials rather than discretionary items, but importantly, we don’t see any additional fraying of consumer health.”  Still, while raising its full-year 2024 forecast, the numbers do point to a second half that is not quite as strong as the first six months.  They are just stronger than earlier predicted.  Elsewhere, the Biden Administration released the prices for the first 10 drugs that resulted from the first-ever Medicare price negotiations. BMY, LLY, JNJ, MRK, AZN, NVS, AMGN, ABBV, and NVO are makers of those first 10 drugs subject to price negotiation and the White House says the lower prices will save Medicare $6 billion in the first year (based on 2023 drug demand data).

With that background, all three major index ETFs gapped up modestly to start the premarket. However, all three have also sold off in a more or less volatile way during the early session and are now back to just below flat so far this morning. All three are still extended above their T-line (8ema) and the short-term trend is clearly strongly bullish (even if the Bears could say they’re just in strong Bear Flag patterns). Meanwhile, the mid-term trend remains bearish, but with the downtrend line under pressure. In the long-term, we are now clearly back in a Bull trend. In terms of extension, as I mentioned all three are stretched to the upside relative to their T-line. At the same time, the T2122 indicator is now in the middle of its overbought territory. So, the market is in need of a rest or pullback. Don’t be surprised if we see some Friday profit-taking. With that said, remember the market can remain overextended a lot longer than we can stay solvent predicting a reversal. So, keep the mantra “follow, don’t lead” in mind. With regard to those 10 big dog tickers, six of them are in the green, led by NFLX (+0.46%) and the biggest dog, NVDA (+0.44%) pacing the gains. Finally, remember its Friday. So, prepare your account for the weekend news cycle and also bear in mind that today is options expiration day.

As always, be deliberate and disciplined…but don’t be stubborn. If you have a loss, admit you were wrong and take that loss before it gets out of hand. And when the price does move in your direction, always move your stops in your favor and take a little profit off the table. You have to keep the “Legend of the Man in the Green Bathrobe” in mind. In a winning situation, it is NOT HOUSE MONEY you’re betting, it’s YOUR MONEY! There is no reason to keep raising your bet (risk) size just because you’ve had a win. Finally, remember that trading is not a hobby, it’s a job. The gains are real and so is the risk. So, treat it that way. Do the work and follow the process. Stick to your trading rules, trade with the trend, and take those profits when you have them. Do the work!

See you in the trading room.

Ed

LTA Scanning Software
TC2000 Discount

🎯 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 PlansPrivate 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

WMT Says Consumer Is Okay

Wednesday saw a mostly flat open after CPI data. SPY opened up 0.16%, DIA opened down just 0.03%, and QQQ “gapped” up 0.19%.  From there, the whipsaw was on for the SPY and QQQ, both of which saw a selloff the first hour followed by a strong rally until noon and another selloff the hour after that.  Meanwhile, DIA’s morning selloff was much smaller and its mid-morning rally was stronger and lasted longer.  Then in the afternoon, things settled down as the wave got smaller in all three major index ETFs.  This action gave us indecisive candles in the SPY and QQQ, but a more bullish candle in the DIA.  All three remained well above their T-line (8ema).  SPY printed a white-bodied Spinning Top, QQQ printed a black-bodied Spinning Top, and Dia printed a white-bodied candle with no lower wick and a modest upper wick.  This all happened on above average volume in the DIA as well as below-average volume in the SPY and QQQ.

On the day, six of the 10 sectors were green with Financial Services (+0.98%) well out in front leading the gainers higher. Meanwhile, Basic Materials (-0.39%) and Consumer Cyclicals (-0.33%) leading the losers lower.  At the same time, SPY gained 0.32%, DIA gained 0.57%, and QQQ gained 0.03%.  VXX dropped another 6.51% to close at 47.14 and T2122 dropped back a bit more toward the center of its mid-range at 65.04. On the bond front, 10-year bond yields fell a bit to 3.839% and Oil (WTI) fell another 1.61% to close at $77.09 per barrel. So, Wednesday was a bullish, but fairly volatile day with the mega-cap DIA leading the rest of the market higher.  This came after what analysts called “encouraging” CPI data that was the lowest since March of 2021.  (It might be of interest to note that prior to the CPI release, 47.5% of Fed Fund Futures expected a quarter point rate cut in September.  At the end of the day, 64.5% are now expecting a quarter-point rate cut.  In both cases, the entire remainder expects a half percent cut.)

The major economic news scheduled for Wednesday were limited to July Core CPI (Year-on-Year) that was down a tick, as expected, at 3.2% (compared to a forecast of 3.2% and down slightly from June’s 3.3%).  On the monthly basis, July Core CPI was actually up a tick as expected at +0.2% (versus a +0.2% forecast and June’s +0.1% reading).  On the headline number, July CPI (Year-on-Year) was down more than was predicted at +2.9% (compared to a +3.0% forecast and prior month value).  On the monthly basis, July CPI was up as predicted at +0.2% (versus a +0.2% forecast and the June -0.1% reading).  Later, the EIA Weekly Crude Oil Inventories showed an unanticipated build of 1.357 million barrels (compared to a forecasted drawdown of 1.900 million barrels and the prior week’s 3.728-million-barrel drawdown). 

After the close, CSCO reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines.  (CSCO also raised its forecasts and guidance, yet still announced cutting as many as 6,000 jobs.)  Meanwhile, STNE beat on revenue while missing on earnings.

In stock news, on Wednesday, MU and Korea’s Samsung followed the third major computer memory manufacturer in raising prices by 15%-20%.  At the same time private company Mars (of candy bar fame) announced they have agreed to buy K for $36 billion.  Later, the CFO of UBS said the company would sell the CS mortgage servicing unit it acquired in the CS buyout.  (No buyer or financial terms were mentioned.)  At the same time, SHAK announced it has rolled out sidewalk robots to deliver orders in Los Angeles for those orders placed via the UBER Eats app.  Later, SEC filings showed that INTC liquidated its stake in ARM during Q2, raising almost $147 million for the 1.18 million shares it sold.  Meanwhile, as part of its earnings call, CSCO announced it will cut 7% of its global workforce.  This is the company’s second round of cuts in 2024, having cut 5% (about 4,000 jobs) in February.  At the same time, SEC filings showed that BRKB took new stakes un ULTA and HEI and increased its holdings of CB and SIRI during Q2.  The same report stated that BRKB reduced its positions in COF and FND.  Later, ALK flight attendants rejected the tentative contract deal the airline had struck with their union.

Click for video

In stock legal and governmental news, on Wednesday, the state of TX added NWG to its list of “bad companies” that cannot do business with the state because they do not own oil and gas stocks.  At the same time, LLY sent “cease and desist” letters to spas, telehealth companies, wellness centers, and doctors demanding that they stop selling unapproved “copycat” versions of LLY’s Zephound and Mounjaro weight loss and diabetes drugs.  Later, D and EQNR were the winning bidders in the Dept. of Interior auction of offshore wind rights off DE, MD, and VA. At the same time, the FTC finalized its ban on companies buying or selling fake online reviews.  The new rules give the agency the power to levy fines of up to $51,744 per violation. The rules were supported by AMZN, GOOGL, and YELP.  (Surveys show the new rules are supported by 90% of online shoppers.) 

Elsewhere, a federal judge in Kansas City has blocked a state of MO state rule barring financial professionals from considering so-called ESG factors in any investment advice.  The rule had been supported by oil industry lobbyists.  At the same time, the federal judge in the case brought by Epic Games (Fortnite maker) issued an order requiring the company to give Android phone users more ways to download apps.  The judge expressed impatience with GOOGL’s stall tactics and protests about the cost and difficulty of implementing changes.  He also said he will appoint a three-person “compliance committee” to determine GOOGL compliance with orders.  Later, DIS filed “unique” (perhaps read that as preposterous) motion Wednesday, demanding that a wrongful death lawsuit be thrown out of court because the surviving spouse had signed up for a one-month trial of DIS+ years before the death.  DIS claims the terms of that trial would bar a consumer from ever filing a lawsuit against the company.  Later, the Committee on Foreign Investment fined TMUS $60 million for failing to prevent and report data breaches of sensitive data. (The agency scrutinizes national security risks of foreign investments and TMUS is majority owned by German DTEGY.) 

Meanwhile, a DE judge upheld the $267 million legal fee request for legal firms that represented shareholders in the $1 billion settlement against DELL.  (This was the largest-ever legal fee approved for a shareholder lawsuit.)  After the close, the Dept. of Justice filed a motion urging the court to accept the BA revised plea deal including the company pleading guilty to a criminal conspiracy to commit charge and paying $243.6 million fine after breaching a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement.  (Relatives of many of the 346 people killed in the two fatal 737 crashes that preceded the 2021 agreement have urged the plea be rejected.)  Also after the close, the SEC and CFTC announced that another group of Wall Street firms have agreed to pay $470 million to settle charges they violated recordkeeping and communications rules (using off the record texting to communicate between firms).  AMP, LPLA, RJF, BK, TD, LTSAP, and TFC were among the companies that settled. 

Overnight, Asian markets were mostly green with just three of the 12 exchanges in the red.  New Zealand (+1.10%), Shanghai (+0.94%), and Singapore (+0.90%) paced the gains while Taiwan (-0.60%) was by far the biggest loser.  In Europe, the picture is even more green at midday with only one of 15 bourses in the red. The CAC (+0.02%), DAX (+0.32%), and FTSE (+0.06%) lead the region modestly higher in early afternoon trade.  In the US, as of 7:30 a.m., Futures are pointing toward a modest green start to the day here as well.  The DIA implies a +0.21% open, the SPY is implying a +0.10% open, and the QQQ implies a +0.15% open at this hour.  At the same time, 10-Year bond yields are up a bit to 3.845% and Oil (WTI) is up nine-tenths of a percent to $77.67 per barrel in early trading.

The major economic news scheduled for Thursday includes Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, Weekly Continuing Jobless Claims, July Core Retail Sales, July Export Price Index, July Import Price Index, NY Empire State Mfg. Index, Philly Fed Mfg. Index, Philly Fed Mfg. Employment Index, and July Retail Sales (all at 8:30 a.m.), July Industrial Production (9:15 a.m.), June Business Inventories and June Retail Inventories (10 a.m.), TIC Net Long-Term Transactions (4 p.m.), and the Fed Balance Sheet (4:30 p.m.).  We also hear from Fed member Harker (1:10 p.m.).  The major earnings reports scheduled for before the open include BABA, AIT, DE, GRAB, JD, NICE, SPTN, TPR, and WMT.  Then, after the close, AMCR, AMAT, COHR, GLOB, and HRB report. 

In economic news later this week, on Friday, July Building Permits, July Housing Starts, Michigan Consumer Sentiment, Michigan Consumer Expectations, Michigan 1-Year Inflation Expectations, and Michigan 5-Year Inflation Expectations are reported.

In terms of earnings reports later this week, on Friday we hear from FLO.

So far this morning, DE, NICE, TPR, and WMT all reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines.  Meanwhile, BABA, AIT, GRAB, JD, and SPTN missed on revenue while beating on earnings. There were no tickers on the other side this morning.  However, DDS missed on both the top and bottom lines.

In miscellaneous news, on Wednesday, Reuters reported that a potential seaport strike is looming in September that would impact East and Gulf Coast ports.  The report cites a shipping industry expect saying the strike could back up and reroute cargo for weeks or potentially months. However, major importers such as WMT have been rushing their orders to get the shipments through the ports prior to the September 30 expiration of the current dockworkers contract. (Industry analysts say it takes about six days to clear the backlog caused by a one-day strike.  So, a strike lasting weeks would delay both import and export shipments for months.)  Elsewhere, Reuters reported that the US, which is one of the largest plastic producers in the world, will back a global treaty that calls for a reduction in plastic production.

In late-breaking news, WMT raised its guidance for the full year citing steady consumer health and the relative strength of the overall economy. WMT CFO Rainey said, “…our members and customers…remain choiceful, discerning, value-seeking, focusing on things like essentials rather than discretionary items, but importantly, we don’t see any additional fraying of consumer health.”  Still, while raising its full-year 2024 forecast, the numbers do point to a second half that is not quite as strong as the first six months.  They are just stronger than earlier predicted.  Elsewhere, the Biden Administration released the prices for the first 10 drugs that resulted from the first-ever Medicare price negotiations. BMY, LLY, JNJ, MRK, AZN, NVS, AMGN, ABBV, and NVO are makers of those first 10 drugs subject to price negotiation and the White House says the lower prices will save Medicare $6 billion in the first year (based on 2023 drug demand data).

With that background, it looks as if markets are indecisively bullish again this morning. All three major index ETFs opened the premarket higher, but had all traded in an uncertain manner since then, producing more wick than body in all cases. All three are above their T-line (8ema) and the short-term trend is clearly bullish (or could be said to be in strong Bear Flag patterns). Meanwhile, the mid-term trend remains bearish, but with the downtrend line under pressure. In the long-term, while the bullish trend line is broken, the longer-term charts remain bullish. In terms of extension, the SPY and especially QQQ remain a little stretched above their T-line but the DIA is in better shape. At the same time, the T2122 indicator remains in its mid-range. So, the market has some room to run if either side can find the momentum (which has been on the Bulls side for a little over a week). However, the Bears have more slack to work with at this point. With regard to those 10 big dog tickers, eight of the 10 are in the green led by AMZN (+0.85%). However, the biggest dog, NVDA (-0.49%) paces the losers and is once again the dollar-volume trading leader. (This time only leading by a factor of 3.5.)

As always, be deliberate and disciplined…but don’t be stubborn. If you have a loss, admit you were wrong and take that loss before it gets out of hand. And when the price does move in your direction, always move your stops in your favor and take a little profit off the table. You have to keep the “Legend of the Man in the Green Bathrobe” in mind. In a winning situation, it is NOT HOUSE MONEY you’re betting, it’s YOUR MONEY! There is no reason to keep raising your bet (risk) size just because you’ve had a win. Finally, remember that trading is not a hobby, it’s a job. The gains are real and so is the risk. So, treat it that way. Do the work and follow the process. Stick to your trading rules, trade with the trend, and take those profits when you have them. Do the work!

See you in the trading room.

Ed

LTA Scanning Software
TC2000 Discount

🎯 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 PlansPrivate 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

PPI Better Than Expected – CPI On Deck

Markets gapped up to start the day Tuesday on better-than-expected PPI data.  SPY gapped up 0.64%, DIA opened 0.31% higher, and QQQ gapped up 1.03%.  From there QQQ started a steady rally that lasted right into the close.  Meanwhile SPY and DIA took an hour to find their feet before following QQQ in steady rallies that lasted all day as well.  This action gave us large, gap-up, white-bodied candles in the SPY and QQQ.  At the same time, DIA had a large, gap-up white-body candle with wicks at both ends (particularly at the bottom).  DIA also crossed back above its T-line (8ema).  This all took place on average volume in DIA and below-average volume in the SPY and QQQ.

On the day, nine of the 10 sectors were green with Technology (+2.54%) out in front leading the gainers higher.  Meanwhile, Energy (-0.49%) was by far, by 1.21%, the weakest sector.  At the same time, SPY gained 1.63%, DIA gained 1.02%, and QQQ gained 2.48%.  VXX dropped another 7.93% to close at 50.42 and T2122 spiked all the way up to the top end of its mid-range at 72.94.  On the bond front, 10-year bond yields fell to 3.848% and Oil (WTI) fell 2.00% to close at $78.45 per barrel.  So, Tuesday was all Bulls, all the time after better-than-expected Producer Prices.  However, after an initial gap higher, price just steadily climbed as traders were generally happy, but also waiting on Wednesday’s CPI data.

The major economic news scheduled for Tuesday included July Core PPI (Month-on-Month) came in flat at 0.0% (compared to a forecast of +0.2% and well down from the June +0.3% reading). At the same time, July PPI (Month-on-Month) also came in down at +0.1% (versus a forecast and June value of +0.2%).  Then, after the close, the API Weekly Crude Oil Stocks report showed a much larger drawdown than predicted at -5.205 million barrels (compared to a forecasted -2.000 million barrel and the prior week’s +0.180 million barrels). 

In Fed news, on Tuesday, Atlanta Fed President Bostic reiterated that he expects the FOMC to cut rates by the end of the year, saying that recent economic data has made him “more confident” inflation is on the right path.   However, he also said that he was worried about cutting too soon.  So, he called for “a little more data” (before cutting) to lower the risk that the Fed might need to reverse course after starting cuts.  Bostic said, “If economy evolves as I expect, there would be a rate cut by the end of the year.”  He added that (the Fed needs to) “see a little more data” (to ensure that the inflation trend is real).  He continued, “It would be really bad if we cut rates and then had to raise them again” (after starting to cut rates).  Bostic concluded, “I am willing to wait, but it’s coming … It is coming.”

In stock news, on Tuesday, CG agreed to buy BAX’s kidney-care unit Vantive for $3.8 billion.  Later, SBUX hired the now-former CEO of CMG Niccol as its new CEO.  At the same time, LMT and GD announced they have signed an agreement to jointly build solid rocket motors for missiles starting in 2025.  (NOC and LHX have been the main suppliers of such components to the defense industry in the past.)  Later, BA said it had achieved plane deliveries that were in-line with expectations.  In July, BA delivered 43 aircraft, in-line with analyst expectations and flat year-on-year, but slightly below the CFO’s previous guidance that deliveries would be “on par with June’s 44 aircraft.”  (BA’s main rival Airbus, EADSY, delivered 77 aircraft in July.)  

Click for video

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that BX is exploring the sale of its Clarion Events unit for roughly $2.6 billion.  Later, FIT, GOOGL, and PTON announced a partnership to produce and sell fitness content.  At the same time, Reuters reported that PARA will begin laying off 15% of its workforce (about 2,000 people) as it looks to cut costs and leverage AI technologies.  (90% of the job cuts are expected to be complete by September.)  Later, GOOGL unveiled new Pixel smartphones and other devices with deeper AI integration.  (This product announcement is several months ahead of GOOGL’s traditional October launches as the company attempts to keep up with AAPL’s AI-integrated product introductions.)  At the same time, TLRY announced it will buy four craft breweries from TAP for an undisclosed sum.  After the close, ALL said it has agreed to sell its employer voluntary benefits business to StanCorp for $2 billion.

In stock legal and governmental news, on Tuesday, Poland signed a contract to buy 96 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and related maintenance equipment from BA for $12 billion.  Later, the NHTSA announced that GM is recalling 21,000 electric SUVs over anti-lock brake issues.  However, GM said it will solve the issue via an over-the-air update.  At the same time, F and MZDAF (Mazda) warned customers to avoid driving certain models still impacted by faulty Takata airbag inflators.  F said 374,300 vehicles had yet to have the previously-announced recall resolved while MZDAF estimated 83,000 of its US vehicles were still not fixed.  Later, INTC was sued by a Jewish former employee (VP of Engineering) who alleges that he was fired after complaining about a senior executive he believed was openly celebrating antisemitism. 

Elsewhere, the US Dept. of Defense announced the US had approved a $20 billion weapons package for Israel, including BA F-15 fighter jets worth $19 billion.  After the close, Bloomberg reported that the US Dept. of justice is mulling plans to seek the breakup of GOOGL after the agency’s recent court victory declaring GOOGL a monopoly and in violation of US antitrust law.  The report cited unnamed sources who say the DOJ is considering demanding GOOGL sell its Android phone operating system and Chrome browser businesses.  Also after the close, the state of TX sued GM, alleging the car company installed technology on more than 14 million vehicles to collect data about drivers to be sold to insurance companies.  Meanwhile, FE agreed to pay the SEC and state of OH $20 million to avoid prosecution in relation to a $60 million bribery scheme.

Overnight, Asian markets were mixed but leaned toward the green with eight of the 12 regional exchanges posting gains.  New Zealand (+2.06%, Taiwan (+1.06%), and South Korea (+0.88%) led the gainers.  On the other side, Shenzhen (-1.17%) was by far the biggest loser.  Meanwhile, in Europe, we see a much greener picture with only Belgium (-0.52%) in the red as opposed to 14 green bourses at midday.  The CAC (+0.43%), DAX (+0.46%), and FTSE (+0.35%) lead the region higher in early afternoon trade.  As of 7 a.m., US Futures are pointing toward a start just on the green side of flat ahead of CPI data.  The DIA implies a +0.02% open, the SPY is implying a +0.04% open, and the QQQ implies a +0.05% open at this hour.  At the same time, 10-Year bond yields are down to 3.83% and Oil (WTI) is down 0.31% to $78.11 per barrel in early trading.

The major economic news scheduled for Wednesday are limited to July Core CPI and July CPI (both at 8:30 a.m.), and EIA Weekly Crude Oil Inventories (10:30 a.m.).  The major earnings reports scheduled for before the open include ARCO, EAT, CAE, CAH, DOLE, ESLT, ICL, PFGC, and UBS.  Then, after the close, CSCO, and STNE report. 

In economic news later this week, on Thursday, we get Weekly Initials Jobless Claims, Weekly Continuing Jobless Claims, July Core Retail Sales, July Export Price Index, July Import Price Index, NY Empire State Mfg. Index, Philly Fed Mfg. Index, Philly Fed Mfg. Employment Index, July Retail Sales, July Industrial Production, Jun Business Inventories, June Retail Inventories, TIC Net Long-Term Transactions, and the Fed Balance Sheet.  We also hear from Fed member Harker.  Finally, on Friday, July Building Permits, July Housing Starts, Michigan Consumer Sentiment, Michigan Consumer Expectations, Michigan 1-Year Inflation Expectations, and Michigan 5-Year Inflation Expectations are reported.

In terms of earnings reports later this week, on Thursday, we hear from BABA, AIT, DE, GRAB, JD, NICE, SPTN, TPR, WMT, AMCR, AMAT, COHR, GLOB, and HRB.  Finally, on Friday, FLO reports.

So far this morning, CAH, DOLE, ESLT, and UBS all reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines.

In mortgage news, interest rates fell to the lowest level in more than a year last week as the national average 30-year, fixed-rate, conforming loan rate fell to 6.54%.  As a result, applications for refinance loans surged 35% compared to the prior week and were up a massive 118% versus the same week in 2023.  On the new home front, new purchase applications rose just 3% for the week and were still down 8% from the same week in 2023.  Even with the disparity in demand growth, refinance loan applications only made up 48.6% of all mortgage applications on the week.

In miscellaneous news, on Tuesday, the US Dept. Agriculture announced expanding the testing for bird flu among beef at slaughterhouses.  200 US herds have tested positive for the avian flu since March with one sample found in a slaughterhouse.   At the same time, overseas, Chinese lending fell to a 15-year low in July as banks gave out just $36.28 billion in new loans according to the People’s Bank of China.  This was down 88% from June and far below the average analyst estimate.  (July is traditionally a slow loan demand month, but the miss was very large.)  Back in the US, the National Federation of Independent Business said its Small Business Optimism Index (survey results) rose to 93.7.  This was the highest reading, indicating the best small business sentiment in more than 2.5 years.

With that background, it looks as if markets are uncertain ahead of CPI data this morning. All three major index ETFs opened roughly flat and have printed indecisive (mostly wick) black-bodied candles since that point. (It is earlier than I normally report.) All three are above their T-line (8ema) and the short-term trend is clearly bullish (or could be said to be in strong Bear Flag patterns). Meanwhile, the mid-term trend remains bearish, but with the downtrend line under pressure in the QQQ. In the long-term, while the bullish trend line is broken, the longer-term charts remain bullish. In terms of extension, the SPY and especially QQQ are getting a little stretched above their T-line but the DIA remains in good shape. At the same time, the T2122 indicator is back toward the top end of its mid-range. So, the market has some room to run if either side can find momentum. However, the Bears have more slack to work with at this point. With regard to those 10 big dog tickers, six of the 10 are in the green led by the biggest dog, NVDA (+1.57%), once again also leads on the dollar-volume traded. (This time leading by a factor of five.) On the other side, GOOGL (-1.41%) is way out front pacing the losses after the overnight news that the DOJ is considering asking to have the monopoly company broken up.

As always, be deliberate and disciplined…but don’t be stubborn. If you have a loss, admit you were wrong and take that loss before it gets out of hand. And when the price does move in your direction, always move your stops in your favor and take a little profit off the table. You have to keep the “Legend of the Man in the Green Bathrobe” in mind. In a winning situation, it is NOT HOUSE MONEY you’re betting, it’s YOUR MONEY! There is no reason to keep raising your bet (risk) size just because you’ve had a win. Finally, remember that trading is not a hobby, it’s a job. The gains are real and so is the risk. So, treat it that way. Do the work and follow the process. Stick to your trading rules, trade with the trend, and take those profits when you have them. Do the work!

See you in the trading room.

Ed

LTA Scanning Software
TC2000 Discount

🎯 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 PlansPrivate 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

Premarket Flatish With PPI Ahead

Monday started with a gap higher.  SPY gapped up 0.24%, DIA gapped up 0.21%, and QQQ gapped up 0.19%.  From there, all three major index ETFs rode the whipsaw in descending-magnitude waves and a slight bearish trend the rest of the day. This action gave us a gap-up black-bodied Spinning Top in the SPY, a gap-up, white-bodied Doji-type candle in the QQQ, and a gap-up, black-bodied Bearish Engulfing candle in the DIA.  That meant that DIA retested and failed its T-line (8ema) while SPY and QQQ both retested and passed (stayed above) their own T-lines.  This happened on lower-than-average volume in all three major index ETFs.

On the day, eight of the 10 sectors were red with Communication Services (-0.76%) leading the way lower.  Meanwhile, the biggest mover was Energy (+0.95%) and by far the leader of the two sectors that held up best.   At the same time, SPY gained 0.05%, DIA lost 0.34%, and QQQ gained 0.22%. VXX fell another 1.83% to close at 54.76 and T2122 fell back into the top of the oversold territory at 18.18.  On the bond front, 10-year bond yields fell to 3.905% and Oil (WTI) spiked another 3.62% on Middle East war fears to close at $79.62 per barrel.  So, Monday was a whipsaw day with violent whips the first two hours of the day and then continuingly decreasing waves the rest of the day.  In general, it felt like a waiting day with traders wanting to see Tuesday’s PPI data.

The major economic news scheduled for Monday includes NY Fed 1-Year Consumer Inflation Expectations, which came in flat at 3.0% (the same as June’s 3.0% reading).  In addition, the Fed report showed a big drop in the medium-term (3-Year) inflation expectations from 2.9% in June to 2.3% in July.  However, the longer-term (5-Year) expectations stayed flat (the same way 1-Year expectations had) at 2.8%.  Later, the Fed Budget Balance came in lower than expected at -$244.0 billion (versus the -$254.3 billion forecast but far above June’s -$66.0 billion).

After the close, AGRO and SLF missed on revenue while beating on earnings.  On the other side, PACS beat on revenue while missing on earnings.

In stock news, on Monday, Canadian bank BNS announced it is buying a 14.9% stake in US regional bank KEY for $2.8 billion ($17.17 per share).  Later, both S&P and MCO (Moody’s) downgraded JBLU credit rating after JBU announced plans to raise $3 billion in debt.  (JBLU intends to use its flier rewards program as collateral for the new debt.)  Meanwhile, BAC CEO Moynihan told CBS that he is urging the Fed to “consider lowering rates to prevent a potential economic downturn.”  (He said he is basing that request on seeing BAC customers spending at a 3% growth rate in July and August, which is half as fast as the July-August spending increase in 2023.)  On the other hand, UBS reported that their research indicates that the probability of a US recession fell from just a few months ago.

Click for video

Elsewhere, CVX announced Monday that it has begun production in the world’s first “ultrahigh pressure” oil field.  The field, located under US waters in the Gulf of Mexico is now set to open up many deep-sea oilfield projects that are only accessible using 20,000 pounds per square inch of pressure.  The single well platform opened Monday will produce 75k barrels of oil and 28 million cubic feet of natural gas per day for the next 30 years. (However, the project did cost $5.7 billion and nobody has ever operated at those pressures, let alone over long periods of time.)  BP hoped to match the CVX feet by 2029.  Later, after the close, XOM laid off 59 employees as it begins the job cuts related to the acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources.

In stock legal and governmental news, on Monday, GOOGL announced that it is deactivating Russian-based AdSense (advertising) accounts.  The search giant said its decision was due to “the ongoing developments in Russia.”  However, some analysts said this was a response to Russia slowing down YouTube service in that country.  Later, Bloomberg reported JNJ now has the support of 75% of the tens of thousands of lawsuit plaintiffs to propose the $6.5 billion talc settlement for court approval.  (75% is the US Bankruptcy Court approval standard.)  If the story is true, the court could impose the settlement terms on all of the 61,000 claimants.  Later, the TX Attorney General announced his office has formally launched an election year investigation into CNP (Houston electrical utility) related to “fraud and waste” in the wake of the Hurricane Beryl power outages. 

Elsewhere, Bloomberg reported Monday that its own investigation has uncovered that store-brand versions of Mucinex Extended Release sold at WBA, CVS, TGT, and WMT contain cancer-causing agent Benzene.  The report says the news agency information has been sent to the FDA.  However, neither the agency nor any of the retailers would comment for the report.  Meanwhile, the Biden Administration announced new proposed rules aimed at reducing consumer wait times, cumbersome forms, and hard-to-cancel subscriptions.  The FTC has begun accepting comments on the proposed rules while the FCC is already moving toward a similar settlement with the major telecom providers.  The Dept. of HHS said it will introduce similar rules for major healthcare and insurance providers in the near future as well. 

Overnight, Asian markets were nearly green across the board.  Only India (-0.85%) kept the Bulls from a clean sweep.  Among the gainers, Japan (+3.45%) was far out front, followed by Singapore (+0.72%) and Shenzhen (+0.43%) leading markets higher.  In Europe, the picture is much more dour at midday with only four of 15 exchanges in the green.  The CAC (-0.19%), DAX (-0.03%), and FTSE (-0.08%) are typical of the modestly red trading in the region in the early afternoon.  Meanwhile, in the US, as of 7:30 a.m., Futures are pointing toward a mixed and modest start to the morning.  The DIA implies a -0.08% open, the SPY is implying a +0.18% open, and the QQQ implies a +0.28% open at this hour.  At the same time, 10-Year bond yields are down to 3.904% and Oil (WTI) is off a quarter percent to $79.88 per barrel in early trading.

The major economic news scheduled for Tuesday includes July Core PPI and July PPI (both tat 8:30 a.m.) and API Weekly Crude Oil Stocks report (4:30 p.m.).  In addition, Fed member Bostic speaks at 1:15 p.m.  The major earnings reports scheduled for before the open include Tuesday, HD, JHX, MLCO, ONON, SE, and TME.  Then, after the close, CIG, FNV, and NU report.

In economic news later this week, on Wednesday, July Core CPI, July CPI, and EIA Weekly Crude Oil Inventories report.  On Thursday, we get Weekly Initials Jobless Claims, Weekly Continuing Jobless Claims, July Core Retail Sales, July Export Price Index, July Import Price Index, NY Empire State Mfg. Index, Philly Fed Mfg. Index, Philly Fed Mfg. Employment Index, July Retail Sales, July Industrial Production, Jun Business Inventories, June Retail Inventories, TIC Net Long-Term Transactions, and the Fed Balance Sheet.  We also hear from Fed member Harker.  Finally, on Friday, July Building Permits, July Housing Starts, Michigan Consumer Sentiment, Michigan Consumer Expectations, Michigan 1-Year Inflation Expectations, and Michigan 5-Year Inflation Expectations are reported.

In terms of earnings reports later this week, on Wednesday, ARCO, EAT, CAE, CAH, DOLE, ESLT, ICL, PFGC, UBS, CSCO, and STNE report.  On Thursday, we hear from BABA, AIT, DE, GRAB, JD, NICE, SPTN, TPR, WMT, AMCR, AMAT, COHR, GLOB, and HRB.  Finally, on Friday, FLO reports.

So far this morning, HD, JHX, and TLN reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines.  Meanwhile, SE beat on revenue while missing on earnings.  However, ONON and TME missed on both the top and bottom lines.

In miscellaneous news, on Monday afternoon there was a 4.4 magnitude earthquake in Los Angeles (centered about 7.5 miles Northeast of downtown LA). Fortunately, there were no immediate reports of structural or infrastructure damage.  At the same time, Bloomberg reported foreign investment in China has fallen again this year, resulting in a net outflow.  Elsewhere, in Russia, Putin replaced the Chief of his General Staff (head of military) Gerasimov with the head of the FSB (successor to KGB) Bortnikov.  The move came after Ukrainian President Zelenskyy held a public staff meeting in which the Ukrainian military claimed they now control 1000 sq. km. of Russia’s Kursk region after seven days of their attack into the invader’s own country. Finally, in China, Bloomberg reports that Beijing has ordered rural banks to not settle recent bond purchase transactions as the central authorities attempt to control the country’s bond market rally. (In other words, Beijing is trying to force money into stocks.)

With that background, it looks as if markets are uncertain ahead of PMI data. All three major index ETFs gapped higher to start the premarket. However, all three have also sold off since then, printing black-bodied candles in the early session and taking price back to one or the other side of flat. DIA retested and has so far failed the retest of its T-line (8ema) while the SPY and QQ remain above their own T-line. The very short-term trend remains bullish while the mid-term trend is bearish. In the long term, while the bullish trend line is broken, the longer-term charts remain bullish. In terms of extension, all three major index ETFs are now back to being close to their T-line (8ema). At the same time, the T2122 indicator is back into the top of its oversold range. So, the market has some room to run if either side can find momentum. However, the bulls have slightly more slack to work. With regard to those 10 big dog tickers, nine of the 10 are in the green led by the biggest dog, NVDA (+1.61%), which also leads on the dollar-volume traded by a factor of six. TSLA (-0.28%), which is usually the second heaviest dollar-volume traded stock is the only red in the group, but is also working on very low dollar volume compared to the normal premarket.

As always, be deliberate and disciplined…but don’t be stubborn. If you have a loss, admit you were wrong and take that loss before it gets out of hand. And when the price does move in your direction, always move your stops in your favor and take a little profit off the table. You have to keep the “Legend of the Man in the Green Bathrobe” in mind. In a winning situation, it is NOT HOUSE MONEY you’re betting, it’s YOUR MONEY! There is no reason to keep raising your bet (risk) size just because you’ve had a win. Finally, remember that trading is not a hobby, it’s a job. The gains are real and so is the risk. So, treat it that way. Do the work and follow the process. Stick to your trading rules, trade with the trend, and take those profits when you have them. Do the work!

See you in the trading room.

Ed

LTA Scanning Software
TC2000 Discount

🎯 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 PlansPrivate 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

Monday Starts Modestly Green

Markets opened modestly lower Friday.  SPY opened down 0.16%, DIA opened down 0.09%, and QQQ opened down 0.34%.  From there, all three of the major index ETFs meandered back-and-forth around the opening gap until 12:30 p.m.  Then the market saw a sharp rally for a little over an hour, followed by a weaker selloff for an hour, with all three then drifting modestly bullishly the rest of the day.  This action gave us small gap-down, white-bodied candles, with wicks at both ends in SPY, DIA, and QQQ.  DIA was a prototypical Spinning Top candle.  All three crossed back above their T-line (8ema), although DIA only did so by a dime.  This happened on average volume in DIA and QQQ as well as less-than-average volume on the SPY.

On the day, nine of the 10 sectors were green with Technology (+0.57%) and Financial Services (+0.56%) out front leading the others higher.  Meanwhile, Industrials (-0.10%) was the only sector in the red (barely).  At the same time, SPY gained 0.44%, DIA gained 0.16%, and QQQ gained 0.52%. VXX plummeted 12.12% to close at 55.78 and T2122 fell but remained in its mid-range at 38.79.  On the bond front, 10-year bond yields fell to 3.94% and Oil (WTI) popped another 1.04% to close at $76.98 per barrel.  So, Friday was a meandering day with less energy that the other days in the week.  As a result, the magnitude of the whipsaws Friday was muted. 

This action ended a tumultuous week that started with a huge gap lower and featured heavy volatility, especially early in the week.  That said, the week ended as “much ado about nothing” as stocks rallied back from the huge INTC-inspired gap lower Monday.  SPY ended the week up 0.02% after trading in nearly a 5% range during that time. DIA did end the week 0.50% lower after having been down more than 3% at one point.  And QQQ was the show-stealer, closing the week up 0.37% after having been down 5.59% at one point and trading in almost a 7% range for the 5-days.

There was no major economic news scheduled for Friday. In addition, there were no earnings reports after the close Friday.

In Fed speak news, on Saturday, Fed Governor Bowman softened her normal very hawkish tone.  She noted “welcome” evidence of inflation reduction and seemed to indicate rate cuts will be needed if inflation stays on a downward trajectory.  Bowman said, “Should the incoming data continue to show that inflation is moving sustainably toward our 2% goal, it will become appropriate to gradually lower the federal funds rate to prevent monetary policy from becoming overly restrictive on economic activity and employment.”  The prepared remarks were delivered to a Kansas City Banking Assn.

Click for video

In stock news, on Friday, STLA announced it is planning to lay off 2,450 US workers later this year as it plans to end production of the “Ram 1500 Classic” truck.  (Layoffs may begin as soon as October 8.)  Later, SBUX gained on a Wall Street Journal report that activist fund Starboard Value had taken a significant position in the company.  At the same time, BA announced it had been awarded a $2.56 billion contract from the USAF for the development of two rapid prototypes of airborne warning and control aircraft.  Later, after the close, C announced it has initiated a process to sell its Trust Services business unit.  (No details were provided.)  On Saturday. Reuters reported that CSCO will cut thousands of more jobs in a second round of layoffs this year.  (CSCO laid off 4,000 employees in February.)  Also on Saturday, TSLA stopped taking orders for the cheapest version of its Cybertruck ($61k) and not only has the $100k version available for sale.

In stock legal and governmental news, on Friday, the NHTSA announced it had opened an investigation into 330k HYMTF (Hyundai) vehicles over potentially faulty seatbelts.  At the same time, the SEC announced it had reached settlements with the CEO of IDEX and two of the company’s former executives related to securities fraud and misleading financial reporting.  Later, JPM asked a federal judge in Manhattan to dismiss its case against Russian VTB Bank, which was seeking to recover $439.5 million in accounts frozen after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  JPM said it was being coerced to request the dismissal by a Russian injunction on JPM and fear of what retaliatory action would take place if the suit was not dropped.  At the same time, META won an appeal by RFK Jr.’s anti-vax group which had been alleging censorship due to META’s policy against the spread of misinformation.

Overnight, Asian markets were mixed but leaned toward the green with eight of the 12 exchanges in positive territory.  Taiwan (+1.42%) and South Korea (+1.15%) led the gainers while Singapore (-0.81%) paced the losses.  In Europe, with the sold exception of Belgium (-0.18%) we see green across the board at midday.  The CAC (+0.05%), DAX (+0.28%), and FTSE (+0.59%) lead the region higher in early afternoon trade.  In the US, as of 7:45 a.m., Futures are pointing toward a modestly green start to the day.  The DIA implies a +0.13% open, the SPY is implying a +0.20% open, and the QQQ implies a +0.22% open at this hour.  At the same time, 10-Year bond yields are back up to 3.955% and Oil (WTI) is up another 1.09% to $77.68 per barrel in early trading.

There is no major economic news scheduled for Monday includes NY Fed 1-Year Consumer Inflation Expectations (11 a.m.), the WASDE Ag report (noon), and Fed Budget Balance (2 p.m.).  The major earnings reports scheduled for before the open include GOLD, CEPU, FTRE, and BEKE.  Then, after the close AGRO, PACS, AND SLF report.

In economic news later this week, on Tuesday we get July Core PPI, July PPI, and API Weekly Crude Oil Stocks report.  In addition, Fed member Bostic speaks.  Then Wednesday, July Core CPI, July CPI, and EIA Weekly Crude Oil Inventories report.  On Thursday, we get Weekly Initials Jobless Claims, Weekly Continuing Jobless Claims, July Core Retail Sales, July Export Price Index, July Import Price Index, NY Empire State Mfg. Index, Philly Fed Mfg. Index, Philly Fed Mfg. Employment Index, July Retail Sales, July Industrial Production, Jun Business Inventories, June Retail Inventories, TIC Net Long-Term Transactions, and the Fed Balance Sheet.  We also hear from Fed member Harker.  Finally, on Friday, July Building Permits, July Housing Starts, Michigan Consumer Sentiment, Michigan Consumer Expectations, Michigan 1-Year Inflation Expectations, and Michigan 5-Year Inflation Expectations are reported.

In terms of earnings reports later this week, on Tuesday, we hear from HD, JHX, MLCO, ONON, SE, TME, CIG, FNV, and NU.  Then Wednesday, ARCO, EAT, CAE, CAH, DOLE, ESLT, ICL, PFGC, UBS, CSCO, and STNE report.  On Thursday, we hear from BABA, AIT, DE, GRAB, JD, NICE, SPTN, TPR, WMT, AMCR, AMAT, COHR, GLOB, and HRB.  Finally, on Friday, FLO reports.

So far this morning, GOLD and BEKE reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines.  However, FTRE missed on both the top and bottom lines.

In miscellaneous news, on Friday, the CFTC said that short bets on 5-Year Treasury Bond Futures were now the largest on record.  The report stain almost 1.7 million contracts of short bets were in place as of the week ending Aug. 6.  (Two-Year and 10-Year Bond Future short bets also increased during the week, but were not at record levels.)  Elsewhere, the state of MI reported a human case of Swine Flu on Friday. (The source of exposure is still under investigation and no word on patient outcome was given.)  Meanwhile, Sunday was the 900th day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (if you do not count the 2014 invasion that stole Crimea and parts of Eastern Ukraine) and the 6th day of the Ukrainian invasion of the Kursk oblast of Russia.

With that background, it looks as if markets are tepidly bullish again early today. All three major index ETFs made a modest gap higher to start the premarket. Since then, SPY and DIA have printed white-body, small-wick candles while QQQ had printed a black-body, mostly-wick candle. All three are back above their T-line (8ema) and the short-term trend remains bullish. However, the mid-term trend is bearish. Still, while the bullish trend line is broken, the longer-term charts remain bullish. In terms of extension, all three major index ETFs are now back to being close to their T-line (8ema). At the same time, the T2122 indicator is back into the mid-range. So, the market has some room to run if either side can find momentum. With regard to those 10 big dog tickers, eight of the 10 are in the green led by the biggest dog, NVDA (+0.79%), which also leads by far on the dollar-volume traded as usual, and AMZN (+0.78%). The second-largest dollar volume trader is TSLA (-0.30%), which is also the biggest loser in premarket.

As always, be deliberate and disciplined…but don’t be stubborn. If you have a loss, admit you were wrong and take that loss before it gets out of hand. And when the price does move in your direction, always move your stops in your favor and take a little profit off the table. You have to keep the “Legend of the Man in the Green Bathrobe” in mind. In a winning situation, it is NOT HOUSE MONEY you’re betting, it’s YOUR MONEY! There is no reason to keep raising your bet (risk) size just because you’ve had a win. Finally, remember that trading is not a hobby, it’s a job. The gains are real and so is the risk. So, treat it that way. Do the work and follow the process. Stick to your trading rules, trade with the trend, and take those profits when you have them. Do the work!

See you in the trading room.

Ed

LTA Scanning Software
TC2000 Discount

🎯 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 PlansPrivate 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

CBOE Plans Crazy Derivative

Jobless Claims data helped the Bulls who were in-charge Thursday.  SPY gapped up 1.03%, DIA gapped up 0.45%, and QQQ gapped up 1.43%. From there, DIA continued higher immediately and strongly for an hour.  Meanwhile SPY and QQQ pulled back for 20 minutes before the Bulls followed the DIA in a strong rally, which lasted until 10:50 a.m.  At that point, all three major index ETFs ground sideways until 1 p.m. Then the entire market rallied again to new highs of the day at 2:25 p.m.  From there, we saw a 75-minute, moderate pullback followed by a 20-minute bounce at the end of the day to take all three major index ETFs out near the highs of the day. This action gave us large white-bodied candles in all three.  All three had small upper wicks, with DIA having very little lower wick, SPY having a modest lower wick, and QQQ having a large lower wick.  All three retested their T-line (8ema) from below and closed just below that level.  This happened on average volume in SPY and QQQ as well as less-than-average volume on the DIA.

On the day, all 10 sectors were green with Technology (+3.60%) way out front leading the others higher.  Meanwhile, Utilities (+0.70%) and Consumer Defensive (+0.77%) lagging well behind the others.  At the same time, SPY gained 2.31%, DIA gained 1.75%, and QQQ gained 3.06%. VXX plummeted 7.96% to close at 63.47 while T2122 climbed back out of its oversold area to 42.22.  On the bond front, 10-year bond yields jumped up to 3.989% and Oil (WTI) popped another 1.10% to close at $76.06 per barrel.  So, Thursday was bullish revenge day where NVDA (+6.13%) led the charge of the 10 big dogs leading the rest of the market higher.  In fact, it was the best day for SPY since 2022.

The major economic news scheduled for Thursday was limited to the Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, which showed a bit less than expected filings at 233k (compared to a forecast of 241k and the prior week’s 250k).  At the same time, Weekly Continuing Jobless Claims were higher than predicted at 1,875k (versus a 1,870k forecast and the previous week’s reading of 1,869k).  Together, this Jobless Claims data calmed market fears about recession, causing a premarket surge.  Later, after the close, the Fed Balance Sheet was down by $3 billion, from $7.178 trillion to $7.175 trillion.

In Fed speak news, on Thursday, Richmond Fed President Barkin played down the idea of a need for urgent (especially inter-meeting) rate cuts.  He said the FOMC has time to determine where the economy is, saying “I think you’ve got some time in a healthy economy to figure out whether this is an economy gently moving into a normalizing state … it this one where you really do have to lean into it (meaning cuts).” Speaking about the labor market, he said “What I hear from folks on the ground in the labor market is that people are cutting back on hiring, but not firing.”   In relation to inflation, he said, “I’m actually pretty optimistic that over the next few months we’re going to see good readings on the inflation side.”  Later, Chicago Fed President Goolsbee reiterated his earlier statements that the Fed’s job is not to respond to the stock market or political considerations.  He said, “The Fed’s out of the election business. The Fed is in the economic business.” He went on to say, “We’re not in the business of responding to the stock market. We’re in the business of maximizing employment and stabilizing prices.”

After the close, AKAM, AMN, CCU, DTEGY, DBX, DXC, EDN, EVH, EXPE, G, GILD, NWSA, NWS, PBI, REZI, RXT, SOLV, and TTD all reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines.  Meanwhile, ATSG, IAG, PARAA, PBA, and PARA missed on revenue while beating on earnings.  On the other side, CPRI, CENX, PODD, PAAS, and TTWO beat on revenue while missing on earnings.  However, NGL, SSP, and TTEC missed on both the top and bottom lines.

Click for video

In stock news, on Thursday, Reuters reported that DAL, UAL, RYAAY, and ESYJY among other airlines have suspended flights to various parts of the Middle East due to rising tensions between Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah, Yemeni Houthis, and Iran.  Later, GM made an odd announcement, saying it is committed to building a profitable operation in China.  The GM CFO said he did not “necessarily accept” the idea that GM is struggling to make money in China, despite the company reporting a $104 million loss in the country in Q2.  At the same time, Reuters reported that AMZN CEO Jassy is happy with the progress of the company’s “Prime Video” and is planning a significant expansion.  (AMZN increased its investment into Prime Video from $1.7 billion to $13.6 billion for 2024.)   Later, TMICY (Trend Micro) is exploring a sale after getting buyout interest in the last few weeks.  After the close, as part of its earnings announcement, PARA said it would be cutting 15% of its workforce.  (The stock was up on the earnings and job cut announcement.) 

In stock legal and governmental news, on Thursday, NTSB Chair Homendy said the agency would like to complete its probe of the BA 737 MAX 9 mid-air door blow-out early in 2025.  She told Reuters that 12-14 months from the time of the January 5 incident would be the target, adding that a survey of BA’s workers in Renton WA will begin soon.  Later, the NHTSA announced that BMWYY (BMW) will recall just under 106k crossover and sedan cars to fix a starter motor overheating issue via a software update.  At the same time, the Fed announced it had imposed an enforcement action on CUBI for “significant deficiencies” related to its risk management and money-laundering practices.  Later, AAPL announce it has changed its EU app store policy and will now charge app developers a fee of 1% on apps, as well as reducing AAPL commissions on all digital goods and services sold through the AAPL’s EU App Store.  (This move came after an investigation and anti-trust finding against AAPL by the EU, but prior to announcement of final punishments.)

Overnight, Asian markets were mostly green to end the turbulent week.  Taiwan (+2.87%), Australia (+1.25%), South Korea (+1.24%), and Hong Kong (+1.17%) led the region higher.  In Europe, we nearly see green across the board at midday with only AEX (-0.10%) in the red.  Meanwhile, the CAC (+0.32%), DAX (+0.15%), and FTSE (+0.39%) lead 14 of the 15 bourses higher in early afternoon trade.  In the US, as of 7:45 a.m., Futures are pointing toward a modestly red start to the morning.  The DIA implies a -0.05% open, the SPY is implying a -0.10% open, and the QQQ implies a -0.11% open at this hour.  At the same time, 10-Year bond yields are down to 3.944% and Oil (WTI) is up two-thirds of a percent to $76.67 per barrel in early trading.

There is no major economic news scheduled for Friday.  The major earnings reports scheduled for before the open include AQN, AMCX, AXL, AMRX, CLMT, ROAD, ERJ, EVRG, and NFE.  Then, after the close, there are no major reports scheduled. 

So far this morning, AMRX, CLMT, ROAD, and SLVM have all reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines.  Meanwhile, AMCX and ERVG beat on revenue while missing on earnings.  However, SATS and NFE missed on both the top and bottom lines.

In miscellaneous news, on Thursday, despite market rumors, the Russian natural gas deliveries to Europe through the pipeline from Russia continue according to both the Ukrainian and German Energy Ministers.  Ukrainian forces captured a transit/pumping station of the pipeline (located in Sudzha, Russia) during an offensive into Russia earlier this week.  (It is worth noting that 50% of all Russian natural gas exports to Europe flow through that station.)  Elsewhere, CBOE announced it is taking the term “derivatives” to a whole new level.  The exchange plans to launch options tied to the futures of the VIX, which itself is a based on the options that track the S&P 500.  (Take a minute and try to grasp that in full.  CBOE will sell options based on futures of an index that is based on options that are based on another index.)  This new vehicle is scheduled to begin trading on October 14, pending regulatory review.

With that background, it looks as if markets are somewhat calm again so far this morning . All three major index ETFs opened higher in the premarket, but then sold back into the red before recovering into the very modest green just now. The very short-term trend is now bullish while the mid-term trend is bearish. However, while the bullish trend line is broken, the longer-term charts remain bullish. (For example, look at a Monthly chart. There is no way to call SPY, DIA, or QQQ bearish based on those monthly charts.) In terms of extension, all three major index ETFs are now back to being close to their T-line (8ema). At the same time, the T2122 indicator is now back up out of its oversold area and into the mid-range. So, the market has some room to run if either side can find momentum. With regard to those 10 big dog tickers, they are evenly split between red and green. However, NVDA (+1.28%) leading the tech in terms of gain and is by far the largest dollar-volume trader The second-largest dollar volume trader is TSLA (+0.08%) which is also (barely) on the green side. Finally, remember its Friday. Monday morning’s gap should have been a warning that you need to prepare your account for weekend news cycles.

As always, be deliberate and disciplined…but don’t be stubborn. If you have a loss, admit you were wrong and take that loss before it gets out of hand. And when the price does move in your direction, always move your stops in your favor and take a little profit off the table. You have to keep the “Legend of the Man in the Green Bathrobe” in mind. In a winning situation, it is NOT HOUSE MONEY you’re betting, it’s YOUR MONEY! There is no reason to keep raising your bet (risk) size just because you’ve had a win. Finally, remember that trading is not a hobby, it’s a job. The gains are real and so is the risk. So, treat it that way. Do the work and follow the process. Stick to your trading rules, trade with the trend, and take those profits when you have them. Do the work!

See you in the trading room.

Ed

LTA Scanning Software
TC2000 Discount

🎯 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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