On Thursday, Jobless Claims shot up unexpectedly to almost 1 million, but markets did not care.  All three major indices opened flat, but then sold off a bit most of the day.  As a result, the SPY and DIA both printed Bearish Engulfing candles, while the QQQ put in a black candle.  On the day, DIA lost 0.19%, SPY lost 0.35%, and QQQ lost 0.53%.  Interestingly, the IWM was up 2% and closed at an all-time high close.  VXX gained just over a percent to 16.68 and T2122 fell slightly, but remains in the overbought territory at 89.97.  10-year bond yields spiked on expectations of the Biden stimulus plan closing a 1.129% and Oil (WTI) rose 1.5% to $52.72/barrel.

After hours, President-elect Biden released his $1.9 trillion stimulus plan.  The plan includes another $1,400 direct payment (raising the December $600 to $2,000).  It also calls for extending $400/week federal unemployment benefits through September, as well as raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hour.  Other key points include $350 billion for state and local government aid, $170 billion aid for schools, $50 billion for Covid testing and $20 billion for vaccinations.  One expected item that was missing was a $10,000 student loan forgiveness plan.

As he leaves office, President Trump continues to escalate tensions with China.  This time by adding more Chinese companies to the federal blacklist (prohibited from doing business in the US and from US investment) including the largest Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi and massive oil company CNOOC.  Some tariffs have been in place as of January 1^st, impacting things such as the price of computer graphics cards.  Oxford University estimates the impact of the trade war will be about $1.6 trillion over the next 5 years, but did not break down the split between the world’s two largest economies. Reuters did report that it may result in up to 732,000 fewer US jobs being created by 2022.

Related to the virus itself, US infections remain very high, but may show signs of easing just a bit.  The totals have risen to 23,848,410 confirmed cases and 397,994 deaths.  This comes as we average just over 243,000 new cases and just over 3,400 deaths per day.  (Extremely high, but less than just a few days ago.) In addition, in an effort to ramp up vaccinations, baseball stadiums and convention centers are being transformed into large-scale vaccination centers across the country.  President-elect Biden has called for a doubling of the pace (we currently give about 500,000 shots per day and he wants 100 million in 100 days).

Globally, the numbers rose to 93,637,684 confirmed cases and the world has now broken the 2 million death mark as confirmed deaths are now at 2,004,815 deaths.  As a reference, the world is averaging 715,000 new cases and over 13,500 new deaths per day.  Ireland reports that half of its total cases have come in the last 2 weeks.  While the number is a drop in the bucket relative to the US, that trend should be alarming.  France imposed new travel restrictions.  German PM Merkel proposed another total national lockdown (they are already in a partial one), but is being fought by German states and business groups.  In Asia, perhaps just coincidentally, China reported its first COVID-19 death in 5 months and a renewed outbreak in the Northwest of the country, on the same day WHO experts arrived in Wuhan to investigate the virus source.

Overnight, Asian markets were mixed but leaned to the red side.  Shenzhen (+0.27%) and Shanghai (+0.27%) again paced gainers.  Meanwhile, South Korea (-2.03%), India (-1.10%) and Thailand (-1.11%) led the losses.  In Europe, so far today markets are red across the board.  Among the big 3 bourses, the FTSE -0.90%), DAX (-1.05%), and CAC (-1.14%) are all leading the way lower, but losses are over three-fourths of a percent across the continent.  As of 7:30 am, US futures are down slightly as well.  The DIA is implying a -0.41% open, while the SPY implies a -0.32% open, and the QQQ is flat, implying a -0.06% open.

The major economic news for Friday includes Dec. Retail Sales, Dec. PPI, and NY Fed Empire State Mfg. Index (all at 8:30 am), Dec. Industrial Production (9:15 am), and Nov. Business Inventories and Mich. Consumer Sentiment (both at 10 am).  Major earnings reports on the day include C, JPM, PNC, and WFC before the open.  There are no major earnings reports after the close.

As we head into a long weekend and with the FBI reporting warnings of more pro-Trump attacks possible in all 50 state capitols as well as 3 serious threats to the US Capitol, do not be surprised to see hedging or profit-taking action Friday. 3 days is a long time to hold much risk in this kind of environment. Besides, it’s Friday…and Friday is payday. So, don’t forget to take some money off and pay yourself.

Lock in those profits (base hits are the way we build consistency) and stick with your discipline.  As always, follow the trend, respect both support and resistance, and don’t chase the moves you have missed.  Focus on the overall market, the specific chart, and your own trading process. Remember, trading is a long-term game. We don’t have to try to get rich every day.

Ed

Swing Trade Ideas for your consideration and watchlist: GILD, MPC, FUBO, INSP, XBI, OSTK, PSX. Trade your plan, take profits along the way, and smart. Also, remember to check for impending earnings reports. Finally, remember that any tickers we mention and talk about in the trading room are not recommendations to buy or sell.

🎯 Mike Probst: Rick, Got CTL off the scanner today. Already up 30%. Love it.

🎯 Dick Carp: the scanner paid for the year with HES-thank you

🎯 Arnoldo Bolanos: LTA scanner really works $$, thanks Ed.

🎯 Bob S: LTA is incredible…. I use it … would not trade without it

🎯 Malcolm .: Posted in room 2, @Rick… I used the LTA Scanner to go through hundreds of stocks this weekend and picked out three to trade:  PYPL, TGT, and ZS.   Quality patterns and with my trading, up 24%, 7% and 12%…. this program is gold.

🎯 Friday 6/21/19  (10:09 am) Aaron B: Today, my account is at +190% since January. Thanks, RWO HRC Flash Malcolm Thomas Steve Ed Bob S Bob C Mike P and everyone that contributes every day. I love our job.

Hit and Run Candlesticks / Road To Wealth Youtube videos

Disclosure: We do not act on all trades we mention, and not all mentions acted on the day of the mention. All trades we mention are for your consideration only.

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

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

Markets opened flat and then printed indecisive (Doji or Spinning Top type candles).  The QQQ even formed a sort of “Morning Star type” signal, although the wicks are too large to meet the technical definition.  On the day, the SPY (+0.25%) was up, the DIA (-0.04%) on the red side of flat, and the QQQ (+0.68%) closed higher.  The VXX was down to 16.49 and T2122 (4-week New High/Low Ratio) rose higher into overbought territory at 90.91.  10-year bond yields fell for the first time this year to 1.095% and Oil (WTI) pulled back half a percent to $52.91/barrel.

After the close, Congress impeached the President for a second time with 10 GOP members voting with all Democrats to call for an impeachment trial.  This vote came as  7,000 National Guard troops (of 20,000 expected) and another 1,500 Federal Law Enforcement personnel had already occupied the Capitol because the FBI reported 3 credible threats of terrorism (dated 1-16 through 1-20) targeting those buildings and officials, presumably around the Inauguration event.

The US Budget Deficit grew 61% in December to $144 billion.  Oddly, that number was much better than the $200 billion deficit for the month that was expected. In other good news, Crude Oil Inventories came in a million barrels lower than expected, declining 3.25 million barrels.  In not-so-good news, Fed member Brainard reported that workers in the bottom quartile of salary still has an unemployment rate above 20%.

Related to the virus itself, US infections continue to rage as the US.  The totals have risen to 23,616,345 confirmed cases and 393,928 deaths.  This comes as we average just over 253,000 new cases and just over 3,400 deaths per day.  JNJ reported after the close that their one-shot vaccine is showing promising results from a tiny set (57) or early-stage study participants.  However, the company also acknowledged a mfg. delay that has put them behind schedule on production of the vaccine (pre-producing in hope it will be approved later).  Meanwhile, Ohio researchers have identified two new US-originating mutations of COVID-19, one of which (dubbed the “Columbus Strain”) is similar to and as contagious as the UK variant.

Globally, the numbers rose to 92,891,624 confirmed cases and the confirmed deaths are now at 1,989,396 deaths.  As a reference, the world is averaging 733,000 new cases and over 13,400 new deaths per day.  A study out of the UK has found that if you catch COVID-19 and recover, your body has approximately 5 months of immunity, but not lifetime resistance.  In other bad news, one of the Chinese vaccines from Sinovac Biotech was found to be only 50% effective in Brazilian trials (versus the 78% effectiveness the company had claimed from Chinese trials).  In Japan, PM Suga declared a state of emergency for 7 additional regions of the country. And in the UK, Health Sec. Hancock is now considering putting COVID-19 patients into hotels to ease capacity pressure on the NHS.  However, while it would surely help make space, that measure would not help any personnel, material or equipment capacity issues.  And in Germany, the government tightened inbound travel restrictions again today, specifically trying to stop the UK and South African mutations of the virus. This after reporting that German 2020 GDP had contracted by 5%.

Overnight, Asian markets were mixed yet again.  Shenzhen (-1.39%) and Shanghai (-0.91%) again paced the losers.  Meanwhile, Hong Kong (+0.93%) and Japan (+0.85%) led gainers.  European markets are leaning to the green side so far today.  Among the big 3 bourses, the FTSE (+0.73%), DAX (+0.20%), and CAC (+0.10%) are all positive at mid-day.  As of 7:30 am, US futures are flat.  The biggest mover is the DIA, which is implying a +0.27% open, while the SPY implies a +0.14% open, and the QQQ implies a -0.06% open.

The major economic news for Thursday includes Dec. Import/Exports and Weekly Initial jobless Claims (both at 8:30 am) and 3 Fed Speakers (Bostic at 11 am, Chair Powell at 12:30 pm, and Kaplan at 1 pm).  The other event that could be caused major economic news is President-elect Biden will unveil his stimulus proposals after the close.  (Sources have told reporters it will be in the $2 trillion price range.)  Major earnings reports on the day include BLK, DAL, FRC, and TSM before the open.  There are no major earnings reports after the close.

With all political drama done, for now, waiting for more economic news or on the outcome of additional threatened acts of insurrection may give the market pause. Also remember that Monday is a market holiday. So, there could be some hedging or profit-taking the next couple days in front ofth e long weekend. Again, we can look at the bright side of this sideways action helping work off over-extension.

As always, follow the trend, respect both support and resistance, and don’t chase the moves you have missed.  Lock in those profits (base hits are the way we build consistency) and stick with your discipline.  Focus on the overall market, the specific chart, and your own trading process. Remember, trading is a marathon, not a sprint. 

Ed

Swing Trade Ideas for your consideration and watchlist: GBT, QCOM, CB, SPWR, MVIS, LLY, BKD, HUYA, NET. Trade your plan, take profits along the way, and smart. Also, remember to check for impending earnings reports. Finally, remember that any tickers we mention and talk about in the trading room are not recommendations to buy or sell.

🎯 Mike Probst: Rick, Got CTL off the scanner today. Already up 30%. Love it.

🎯 Dick Carp: the scanner paid for the year with HES-thank you

🎯 Arnoldo Bolanos: LTA scanner really works $$, thanks Ed.

🎯 Bob S: LTA is incredible…. I use it … would not trade without it

🎯 Malcolm .: Posted in room 2, @Rick… I used the LTA Scanner to go through hundreds of stocks this weekend and picked out three to trade:  PYPL, TGT, and ZS.   Quality patterns and with my trading, up 24%, 7% and 12%…. this program is gold.

🎯 Friday 6/21/19  (10:09 am) Aaron B: Today, my account is at +190% since January. Thanks, RWO HRC Flash Malcolm Thomas Steve Ed Bob S Bob C Mike P and everyone that contributes every day. I love our job.

Hit and Run Candlesticks / Road To Wealth Youtube videos

Disclosure: We do not act on all trades we mention, and not all mentions acted on the day of the mention. All trades we mention are for your consideration only.

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

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

Markets opened flat Tuesday and then proceeded to print indecisive Doji-type candles in all 3 major averages.  So, after a rollercoaster session, the consolidation of the last couple days remains in force.  On the day SPY (+0.01%) was on the green side of flat, DIA (-0.16%) was on the red side, and QQQ (+0.18%) was on the green side.  The VXX lost 3.4% to 16.75 and T2122 jumped back up into the overbought territory at 87.08.  10-year bond yield were flat at 1.134% and Oil rose the better part of 2% to $53.15/barrel.

During the day, two different Fed speakers said that into 2022 the FOMC will remain accommodative, but that inflation could rise faster than expected.  In other economic news, President-elect Biden announced more economic relief will be coming, saying he will extend the Student Loan repayment moratorium in addition to earlier calling on Congress to forgive $10,000 in student loans.  The dollar also continued to weaken, which helped most commodities and even bonds to an extent.  However, this weakening also raises concerns that the EU, China, and perhaps others will soon make moves to devalue their own currencies relative to the dollar to offset the impact of falling dollars (it is harder to sell things to the US when a dollar buys less).

Overnight, in Europe, ECB President Lagarde told reporters she is standing by her forecast of 3.9% GDP growth for 2021 (versus what is believed to be a 7.3% contraction last year).  Despite the current lockdowns and travel restrictions, she said the model expected the current situation.  She said that what might change forecasts would be lockdowns that extended past March. Until then, she still expects close to 4% growth.

Related to the virus itself, US infections continue to rage as the US.  The totals have risen to 23,369,732 confirmed cases and 389,621 deaths.  The post-holiday surge is now starting to hit, as we average just over 253,000 new cases and after another record day of 4,300 dead, we now average almost 3,400 deaths per day.  The CDC has announced that all international air travelers will require a negative test before boarding a flight destined for the US as of Jan. 26.  In addition, the agency also reported that we have vaccinated 9 million people with the first round (of two) of the PFE-BTNX or MRNA vaccines.  REGN also announced a deal with the government to provide 1.25 million additional doses of its Covid antibody treatment.  Interestingly, at almost the same time Dr. Fauci (NIH) and other scientists were saying that the new South African variant may pose a threat to the effectiveness to the existing antibody treatments and could theoretically also impact the effectiveness of vaccines.

Globally, the numbers rose to 92,118,795 confirmed cases and the confirmed deaths are now at 1,972,685 deaths.  As a reference, the world is averaging over 733,000 new cases and over 13,000 new deaths per day.  Germany tightened inbound travel restrictions and extended its lockdown again today, specifically trying to stop the UK and South African mutations of the virus.  In bad news, a Chinese vaccine from Sinovac Biotech was found to be only 50% effective in Brazil trials (versus the 78% the company had claimed from Chinese trials).  In Japan, PM Suga declared a state of emergency for 7 additional regions of the country. And in the UK, Health Sec. Hancock is now considering putting COVID-19 patients into hotels to ease capacity pressure on the NHS.  However, while it would surely help make space, that measure would not help any personnel, material or equipment capacity issues.

Overnight, Asian markets were mixed again.  China showed the only red with Shenzhen (-1.08%), Shanghai (-0.27%), and Hong Kong (-0.15%) to the downside.  Meanwhile, Taiwan (+1.74%), Malaysia (+1.53%), and Japan (+1.04%) led gainers.  European markets are also mixed, but lean to the red side on modest moves so far today.  Among the big 3 bourses, the FTSE (-0.20%) , DAX (-0.19%), and CAC (-0.10%) are all slightly red.   As of 7:30 am, US futures are also in the red.  The DIA is implying a -0.18% open, the SPY a -0.28% open, and the QQQ a -0.26% open.

The major economic news for Wednesday includes Dec. CPI (8:30 am), Crude Oil Inventories (10:30 am), Fed Beige Book and Dec. Federal Budget Balance (both at 2 pm) and 4 Fed Speakers (Bullard at 9:30 am, Brainard at 1 pm, Harker at 2 pm, and Clarida at 3 pm). Major earnings reports include INFO, INFY, SJR, and WIT before the open.  There are no major earnings reports after the close.

With no surge of earnings today and the political drama still only slowly simmering, markets may be wont to drift with threats of more seditious violence 3-10 days away (according to FBI reports). If we look at the bright side, this sideways action could be taken as good for the bulls as over-extension gets worked off. However, be careful of odd moves. Bloomberg reported that six of the 10 most active stocks on Monday were penny stocks which moved in massive swings on no particular news, possibly pointing to major pump-and-dump or other unknown activity.

As always, follow the trend, respect both support and resistance, and don’t chase the moves you have missed.  Lock in those profits (base hits are the way we build consistency) and stick with your discipline.  Focus on the overall market, the specific chart, and your own trading process. Remember, trading is a marathon, not a sprint. 

Ed

Swing Trade Ideas for your consideration and watchlist: PTON, LYFT, XLB, XLI, CPE, MOMO, SPCE, NKLA. Trade your plan, take profits along the way, and smart. Also, remember to check for impending earnings reports. Finally, remember that any tickers we mention and talk about in the trading room are not recommendations to buy or sell.

🎯 Mike Probst: Rick, Got CTL off the scanner today. Already up 30%. Love it.

🎯 Dick Carp: the scanner paid for the year with HES-thank you

🎯 Arnoldo Bolanos: LTA scanner really works $$, thanks Ed.

🎯 Bob S: LTA is incredible…. I use it … would not trade without it

🎯 Malcolm .: Posted in room 2, @Rick… I used the LTA Scanner to go through hundreds of stocks this weekend and picked out three to trade:  PYPL, TGT, and ZS.   Quality patterns and with my trading, up 24%, 7% and 12%…. this program is gold.

🎯 Friday 6/21/19  (10:09 am) Aaron B: Today, my account is at +190% since January. Thanks, RWO HRC Flash Malcolm Thomas Steve Ed Bob S Bob C Mike P and everyone that contributes every day. I love our job.

Hit and Run Candlesticks / Road To Wealth Youtube videos

Disclosure: We do not act on all trades we mention, and not all mentions acted on the day of the mention. All trades we mention are for your consideration only.

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

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

Heads up:  There will be no Tuesday morning blog, my Buckeyes play tonight.

Markets gapped up moderately on Friday and then did a roller-coaster selloff until mid-afternoon.  At that point, the bulls stepped in and led a strong rally that lasted right into the close.  This left the SPY and DIA with Hanging Man type candles.  All 3 major indices closed at yet another new all-time high close.   On the day, QQQ (+1.29%) led, while the SPY gained 0.57% and the DIA gained 0.17%.  VXX lost another percent to 16.35 and T2122 remains in the overbought territory at 87.06.  10-year bond yields screamed higher again to 1.119% and Oil (WTI) gained 3.74% to $52.73/barrel.

On the heels of Thursday night’s large government fine and charges, in what may be more bad news for BA, an older model of the 737 (a 737-500) crashed a few minutes after takeoff in Indonesia on Saturday.  The black boxes were located on Sunday and the Indonesian government hopes to retrieve them from the ocean shortly. In other trading news, Bitcoin is proving as volatile as ever for crypto traders. It has fallen 11% overnight on what analysts are saying is likely profit-taking.  This comes as the Dollar rose against global currencies.

In continued fallout from Wednesday’s seditious riots on the US Capitol, AAPL followed GOOGL lead and has removed the radical right alternative to TWTR from its app store.  TWTR, FB, YouTube and other social media have also banned the President and most of his leading conspiracy theory spewing followers such as QAnon, Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Michael Flynn, etc. Other related news includes Congress demanding VP Pence invoke the 25th Amendment and they are also expected to pass another Impeachment this week. For his part, the President apparently intends to try changing the topic and running out the clock by traveling to a section of the border wall in Texas.

Related to the virus itself, US infections continue to rage as the US.  The totals have risen to 22,917,334 confirmed cases and 383,275 deaths.  The post-holiday surge is now starting to hit, as we average 250,368 new cases and 3,306 deaths per day.  The US has now seen more than 100,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations for 40 days in a row.  Harvard and MIT report that the US is lagging in the speed of genetic sequencing of samples, which helps explain why so few cases of the new UK variant have been found.  In the US it takes 85 days on average from sample collection to posting sequences.  This is slower than many smaller and poorer countries (such as Bangledesh).

Globally, the numbers rose to 90,769,055 confirmed cases and the confirmed deaths are now at 1,944,726 deaths.  As a reference, the world is averaging over 725,000 new cases and almost 13,000 new deaths per day. In the UK, the Chief Medical Officer of the country said Britain was at the worst point of the pandemic.  The UK plans to tighten its lockdown in response.  However, in France, the government says no new lockdown measures are needed at this point.  In China, they have completed the mass testing of over 17 million people in one province…all done in 5 days. In Japan, they have identified (genetically sequenced) yet another COVID-19 variant.

Overnight, Asian markets were mixed.  Japan (+2.36%) far outpaced all other gainers, while Shenzhen (-1.80%), Shanghai (-1.08%), and Malaysia (-0.98%) had the worst losses.  In Europe, markets are mixed but lean much more heavily to the downside as of mid-day on the continent.  Among the 3 major bourses, the FTSE is down 0.51%, the DAX down 0.68%, and the CAC down 0.60%.   As of 7:30 am, US Futures are following Europe this morning.  The DIA is implying a gap down of 0.77%, the SPY implying a gap down of 0.64%, and the QQQ implying a gap down of 0.63%. This is possibly pre-market profit-taking after a strong week and trying to time exuberance.

There is no major economic news for Monday, but there is a Fed speaker (Bostic at noon).  Major earnings reports on the day are limited to CMC before the open and SNX after the close.

Markets have moved on from the seditious Washington riots and seem to be more focused on extension, if not valuations at these all-time highs. With no economic data or earnings to change the narrative, the balance seems to be between how much Mr. Market likes President-elect Biden’s stimulus plans and the vaccine rollout versus how much he fears over-extension and the virus. Keep this in mind as you decide whether to add positions, hedge your bets, or take money off the table.

As always, follow the trend, respect both support and resistance, and don’t chase the moves you have missed.  Lock in those profits (base hits are better than long fly-outs) and stick with your discipline.  Focus on the market, the chart, and your trading process. Remember, trading is a marathon, not a sprint. 

Go Bucks!

Ed

Swing Trade Ideas for your consideration and watchlist: PEIX, BMY, ZEN, CSCO, PTON, PINS, LOW, JD, GE. Trade your plan, take profits along the way, and smart. Also, remember to check for impending earnings reports. Finally, remember that any tickers we mention and talk about in the trading room are not recommendations to buy or sell.

🎯 Mike Probst: Rick, Got CTL off the scanner today. Already up 30%. Love it.

🎯 Dick Carp: the scanner paid for the year with HES-thank you

🎯 Arnoldo Bolanos: LTA scanner really works $$, thanks Ed.

🎯 Bob S: LTA is incredible…. I use it … would not trade without it

🎯 Malcolm .: Posted in room 2, @Rick… I used the LTA Scanner to go through hundreds of stocks this weekend and picked out three to trade:  PYPL, TGT, and ZS.   Quality patterns and with my trading, up 24%, 7% and 12%…. this program is gold.

🎯 Friday 6/21/19  (10:09 am) Aaron B: Today, my account is at +190% since January. Thanks, RWO HRC Flash Malcolm Thomas Steve Ed Bob S Bob C Mike P and everyone that contributes every day. I love our job.

Hit and Run Candlesticks / Road To Wealth Youtube videos

Disclosure: We do not act on all trades we mention, and not all mentions acted on the day of the mention. All trades we mention are for your consideration only.

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

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

Markets gapped up a half to nine-tenths of a percent Thursday as markets got past the turmoil of Wednesday and decided they liked the idea of a united government. After the open, drifted higher and then waffled the rest of the day.  On the day, all 3 major indices closed at new all-time high closes, with the SPY and QQQ putting in strong white candles that closed near the highs.  However, the DIA backed off to form a cap-up Doji type candle.  At the close, QQQ was up 2.42%, SPY was up 1.49%, and DIA was up 0.74%.  The VXX fell almost 6% to 16.53 and T2122 fell slightly, but remains in the overbought territory at 88.67.  10-year bond yield drove strongly higher again to 1.079% (the high since last March) and Oil (WTI) was up two-thirds of a percent to $50.97/barrel.

Shortly after the close, the DOJ fined BA $2.5 billion and charged the company with conspiracy to defraud over company deception related to the 737 Max crashes in late 2018 and early 2019.  The other market news was that Bitcoin broke more records again on Thursday, now trading very close to $40,000.  Finally, before the open Thursday, the NYSE again reversed course (again) and decided they will delist the 3 Chinese Telecom giants.

As expected, the other major news on the day was political.  Democrats and some Republicans called for the removal of President Trump by invocation of the 25^th Amendment and/or Impeachment for his incitement of Wednesday’s insurrection.  The larger GOP names attempted to distance themselves from Trump by either denouncing him or resigning like Transportation Sec. Chao.  At the other end of the spectrum, Trump attack dogs went into hiding and radio silence in hopes that the furor will blow over by inauguration day.  At day end, the President released another desperate video in an attempt to prevent others from removing him.  In it, he vaguely conceded that he lost, managed to go 2 minutes without lying about winning and having the election stolen, but then lied about how he acted as soon as he saw the rioters.  Either way, if the riots didn’t completely spook Wall Street, the resignations, posturing, and/or silence certainly has not done so.  So, it appears Wall Street is well past the episode.

Related to the virus itself, US infections continue to rage as the US.  The totals have risen to 22,137,009 confirmed cases and 374,197 deaths.  The post-holiday surge is still not fully upon us yet, but we again hit national record highs of 279,154 new cases and 4,207 deaths Thursday.  However, the 7-day daily average remains at 234,110 new cases and 2,831 deaths per day.  The CDC announced that over 21 million doses of the PFE-BTNX vaccine have been “distributed,” but just 5.9 million doses have been administered as of day end Thursday.

Globally, the numbers rose to 88,615,325 confirmed cases and the confirmed deaths are now at 1,908,948 deaths.  As a reference, the world is averaging 659,484 new cases and 11,357 new deaths per day.  In Europe, the EU has purchased 300 million more doses of the PFE-BNTX vaccine. A trial held in 6 countries (800 patients studied) found that a combination of 2 Arthritis drugs shows an 8.5% decrease in mortality when administered to the sickest patients.  Brazil announced that the second of 2 Chinese vaccines they have studied is 78% effective during phase 3 trials.  Although quite a bit less effective than the PFE or MRNS vaccines, the Chinese vaccines are much, much easier to ship and distribute because they can be stored at normal refrigerator temperatures.  Speaking of China they are tightening restrictions again.  In addition to the locked-down province, they have quarantined a city of 11 million residents and now commuters are required to show proof of Beijing residence and a Negative test result before they can travel to the capitol.  

Overnight, Asian markets were mostly in the green.  South Korea (+3.97%), Singapore (+2.97%), and Japan (+2.36%) led the way. Mainland China was down slightly on fears over new outbreaks.  In Europe we see a similar story so far today, but with much smaller gains.  The FTSE (+0.02%) is flat with the DAX (+0.79%) and CAC (+0.53%) being more typical again.  As of 7:30 am, US Futures are moderately green this morning.  The QQQ is again strongest, implying a +0.55% gap up open, while the SPY (+0.38%) and DIA (+0.28%) are implying more modest gains at the open.  However, we are likely waiting on data at 8:30 before deciding the open.

The major economic news for Friday includes Dec. Avg. Hourly Earnings, Dec. Nonfarms Payrolls, Dec. Unemployment Rate, and Dec. Participation Rate (all at 8:30 am).  There is also a Fed speaker (Clarida at 11 am).  There are no major earnings reports on the day Friday.

With any fear from the Washington riots in the rearview mirror, the markets have been running hard. There is a data dump at 8:30 am which may influence short-term sentiment, but the bulls seem to have decided they like a Democratic-run government coming soon. That said, don’t get over-exposed to the upside ahead of the weekend if you can’t stand headline risk. Trump won’t like being sidelined and may do something just to make sure everyone knows he’s still around.

As always, lock in profits (base hits are better than long fly-outs) and stick with your discipline.  Follow the trend, respect both support and resistance, and don’t chase the moves you have missed.  There will be another opportunity and we don’t need to trade every day. Focus on the chart and your trading process. Remember, trading is a marathon, not a sprint.  Finally, remember it’s Friday…don’t forget to pay yourself.

Ed

Swing Trade Ideas for your consideration and watchlist: AAPL, PANW, PINS, CHGG, QCOM, MNST, BLUE, UBER, NIO, MTCH. Trade your plan, take profits along the way, and smart. Also, remember to check for impending earnings reports. Finally, remember that any tickers we mention and talk about in the trading room are not recommendations to buy or sell.

🎯 Mike Probst: Rick, Got CTL off the scanner today. Already up 30%. Love it.

🎯 Dick Carp: the scanner paid for the year with HES-thank you

🎯 Arnoldo Bolanos: LTA scanner really works $$, thanks Ed.

🎯 Bob S: LTA is incredible…. I use it … would not trade without it

🎯 Malcolm .: Posted in room 2, @Rick… I used the LTA Scanner to go through hundreds of stocks this weekend and picked out three to trade:  PYPL, TGT, and ZS.   Quality patterns and with my trading, up 24%, 7% and 12%…. this program is gold.

🎯 Friday 6/21/19  (10:09 am) Aaron B: Today, my account is at +190% since January. Thanks, RWO HRC Flash Malcolm Thomas Steve Ed Bob S Bob C Mike P and everyone that contributes every day. I love our job.

Hit and Run Candlesticks / Road To Wealth Youtube videos

Disclosure: We do not act on all trades we mention, and not all mentions acted on the day of the mention. All trades we mention are for your consideration only.

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

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

As has been the case each day this year, markets gapped one way and then charged the other direction immediately.  Wednesday saw the gap down followed by a strong morning rally.  About 11:30 markets started to grind sideway, even drifting a bit higher until shortly after 2 pm.  Then our deluded President’s conspiracy theory lies believing followers were incited to riot and storm the US Capitol building.  Markets sold off as the seat of government was under siege for hours, but still managed to hold on to some of the morning gains.  The DIA even closed at another all-time high close.  On the day, DIA gained 1.44%, SPY gained 0.60%, and QQQ lost 1.39%.  The VXX actually lost half a percent to 17.55 and T2122 jumped up into the overbought territory at 92.48.  10-year bond yield shot higher again to 1.039% and Oil (WTI) gained another percent to $50.52/barrel.

Lost amongst the coverage of insurrection was that the Democrats won both of the GA Senate runoff elections.  So, President-elect Biden’s party will also control both Houses of the Congress (through VP Harris’ tie-breaking vote).  Some had said an expectation of that outcome was the reason for the gap down.  However, then markets immediately rallied, so it is hard to divine what Markets think about that change in governance.  Still, it makes the increase to a $2,000/person direct payment much more likely.

The other story lost in the wash was that the riots helped to accelerate the weakness in the dollar.  It has now fallen to the levels not seen since 2017.  This has helped drive the Euro to a level that currency has not seen since 2014.  Obviously, as the dollar falls, dollar-denominated commodity prices rise.  This partially explains the gains in Gold and Oil. It also increases the pressure on the Fed and fiscal stimulus, which goes less far as each dollar of stimulus buys less.  Overseas, it makes it harder for Central Banks and Governments to repay their own debt and to sell goods to the US.  As a result, Bloomberg reports that some analysts are expecting the ECB and China to take action to lower the value of their own currencies to offset dollar weakness.

It’s hard to believe, but on a day with 4,100 virus deaths in the US, COVID-19 took a back seat. Related to the virus itself, US infections continue to rage as the US.  The totals have risen to 21,857,616 confirmed cases and 369,990 deaths.  As mentioned, we did hit another national record high in deaths, but also in new cases at 260,973 on Wednesday.  However, the 7-day daily average remains at 228,891 new cases and 2,742 deaths per day.  

Globally, the numbers rose to 87,763,513 confirmed cases and the confirmed deaths are now at 1,893,873 deaths.  As a reference, the world is averaging 645,896 new cases and 11,250 new deaths per day.  In Japan, the PM has declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and surrounding areas as they also reported a record number of new cases.  Travel bans from international travel, especially from the UK and South Africa continue to be added.  In Europe, the EU approved the MRNA vaccine, which means it will begin rollout across the EU by next week.

Overnight, Asian markets were mostly in the green.  South Korea (+2.14%), Japan (+1.60%), and Australia (+1.59%) led the gainers.  The only appreciable loss was in Hong Kong (-0.52%) with a couple other exchanges just on the red side of flat.  In Europe we see a similar story so far today.  The FTSE (-0.47%) is one of the notable red spots with the DAX (+0.41%) and CAC (+0.31%) being more typical of the continent.  As of 7:30 am, despite the deluded riots that left 4 dead and the seat of Government battered, US Futures are moderately green this morning.  The QQQ is strongest, implying a +0.74% gap up open, while the SPY (+0.40%) is implying a positive, but not gappy open and the DIA (+0.28%) is implying a modest gain at the open.

The major economic news for Thursday includes Import/Exports, Nov. Trade Balance, and Weekly Initial Jobless Claims (all at 8:30 am.), Dec. ISM Non-Mfg. PMI (10 am), and a pair of Fed speakers (Harker at 9 am and Bullard at Noon).  Major earnings reports include AYI, BBBY, CAG, HELE, LW, REVG, STZ, and WBA before the open.  Then after the close MU reports.

Volatility continues early in 2021. However, it would be hard to predict anything as volatile as Wednesday’s riots happening again. Even though the Cabinet apparently hasn’t had the courage to invoke Article 25, we can expect impeachment proceedings soon unless the GOP is willing to make massive concessions to buy off Democrats. At any rate, with the immediate threat behind us and President Biden’s election now certified, hopefully, we can return to the virus being the main threat for days to come. It would still be wise to remain cautious and not chase. Be ready for the market switch-backs we’ve seen each of the first several days of the year.

As always, lock in profits (base hits are better than long fly-outs) and stick with your discipline.  Follow the trend, respect both support and resistance, and don’t chase the moves you have missed.  There will be another opportunity and we don’t need to trade every day. Focus on the chart and your trading process. Remember, trading is a marathon, not a sprint. 

Ed

Swing Trade Ideas for your consideration and watchlist: GOLD, KGC, GDX, WPM, NUGT, AGI. Trade your plan, take profits along the way, and smart. Also, remember to check for impending earnings reports. Finally, remember that any tickers we mention and talk about in the trading room are not recommendations to buy or sell.

🎯 Mike Probst: Rick, Got CTL off the scanner today. Already up 30%. Love it.

🎯 Dick Carp: the scanner paid for the year with HES-thank you

🎯 Arnoldo Bolanos: LTA scanner really works $$, thanks Ed.

🎯 Bob S: LTA is incredible…. I use it … would not trade without it

🎯 Malcolm .: Posted in room 2, @Rick… I used the LTA Scanner to go through hundreds of stocks this weekend and picked out three to trade:  PYPL, TGT, and ZS.   Quality patterns and with my trading, up 24%, 7% and 12%…. this program is gold.

🎯 Friday 6/21/19  (10:09 am) Aaron B: Today, my account is at +190% since January. Thanks, RWO HRC Flash Malcolm Thomas Steve Ed Bob S Bob C Mike P and everyone that contributes every day. I love our job.

Hit and Run Candlesticks / Road To Wealth Youtube videos

Disclosure: We do not act on all trades we mention, and not all mentions acted on the day of the mention. All trades we mention are for your consideration only.

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

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

Markets opened slightly lower on Tuesday.  However, after a rollercoaster first hour, the bulls took control and led a sustained rally up until the last hour, which gave back just a touch of the gains.  On the day the QQQ gained 0.82%, the SPY gained 0.69%, and the DAI gain 0.50%.  VXX fell over 3% to 17.64 and T2122 shot back up to sit just below the overbought territory at 77.17.  10-year bond yields rose sharply to 0.955% and Oil (WTI) shot up over 4.5% buoyed by Saudi Arabia announcing production cuts, leaving it at $49.80/barrel after trading above $50 for the first time since last February.

Politics takes center stage again today without much real short-term impact.  One of the two GA Senate races is projected to go to the Democrat challenger while the other election is too close to call, with the Democrat currently in the lead.  If both Democrats win, the Senate becomes a stalemate for 2 years with Democratic VP Harris then being the deciding vote.  If either seat remains Republican, current Majority Leader McConnell retains the power to obstruct all Democratic plans for 2 years.  Meanwhile, the delusion of conspiracy theories comes to a crescendo as the President and some of his supporters will hold political theatre before accepting the Nov. election results.

Mortgage demand pulled back 0.80% in the last 2 weeks of December, despite record low interest rates (2.68% for 30-year conforming loans, which was way down from 2.90% in the previous reporting period).  The volume of applications was up 3% above the same period a year prior, but the volume had been running at 20% or more higher than the previous year since the beginning of the pandemic.  So, this may be signaling an end to the home buying surge.  

Related to the virus itself, US infections continue to rage as the US.  The totals have risen to 21,579,641 confirmed cases and 365,664 deaths.  The post-holiday surge is still not fully upon us yet, but we did hit a national record of 3,775 deaths Tuesday.  However, the 7-day daily average remains at 222,771 new cases and 2,678 deaths per day.  As mentioned yesterday, the hospital capacity in the Los Angeles area is critical.  Ambulance crews have told to perform 15 minutes of life-saving at any scene and then only transport patients that do not have a low likelihood of survival.  Beyond that, each ambulance may experience an hour or more of wait time at the hospital before a patient can be seen and they freed up for another call.  In addition, all non-essential (beyond just elective) surgeries have been canceled in the region.

Globally, the numbers rose to 86,959,936 confirmed cases and the confirmed deaths are now at 1,878,706 deaths.  As a reference, the world is averaging about 637,000 new cases and 11,250 new deaths per day.  As in the US, in Europe, delays in vaccinations are a major storyline.  The Netherlands just gave its first vaccination on Wednesday as their National Health Ministry had bet on the wrong vaccine to be ready first.  In France the pace is also far, far behind with just a few thousands of doses given.  Italy also received 100,000 fewer doses than they expected.  Meanwhile, for comparison the UK has vaccinated 1.3 million people and Germany almost 400,000.  In China, over 100 cases were reported in one province and that region is being locked down with a negative test required to enter or leave the province as of today.

Overnight, Asian markets were mixed, but mostly red.  Indonesia (-1.17%), Australia (-1.12%) and Malaysia (-1.02%) led the losses.  Shanghai (+0.63%) was the only appreciable green exchange.  In Europe, markets are mostly green so far today.  Among the big 3 bourses, the FTSE (+2.75%) leads as an outlier, with the DAX (+1.02%) and CAC (+0.80%) more typical.  As of 7:45 am, US Futures are mixed.  The QQQ is implying a large -1.44% gap down while the DIA (+0.15%) is slightly green and the SPY is implying a -0.27% open at this point.

The major economic news for Wednesday includes Dec. ADP Nonfarm Employment (87:15 am), Dec. Services PMI (9:45 am), Nov. Factory Orders (10 am), Crude Oil Inventories (10:30 am), and Dec. FOMC Meeting Minutes (2 pm).  Major earnings reports are limited to MSM and RPM before the open.  There are no major earnings reports after the close.

Volatility continues early in 2021, with each day so far starting with markets going one direction only to slam back hard the other direction. Some pundits claim this is related to fear over the Senate, others that is it virus-related. Regardless of the cause, be cautious not to chase and be ready for market switch-backs. Safe is better than fast and nimble is better than slow…if that makes sense.

As always, lock in profits (base hits are better than long fly-outs) and stick with your discipline.  Follow the trend, respect both support and resistance, and don’t chase the moves you have missed.  There will be another opportunity and we don’t need to trade every day. Focus on the chart and your trading process. Remember, trading is a marathon, not a sprint. 

Ed

Swing Trade Ideas for your consideration and watchlist: CX, X, GE, LTHM, TLRY, AMAT, REGI, XRT. Trade your plan, take profits along the way, and smart. Also, remember to check for impending earnings reports. Finally, remember that any tickers we mention and talk about in the trading room are not recommendations to buy or sell.

🎯 Mike Probst: Rick, Got CTL off the scanner today. Already up 30%. Love it.

🎯 Dick Carp: the scanner paid for the year with HES-thank you

🎯 Arnoldo Bolanos: LTA scanner really works $$, thanks Ed.

🎯 Bob S: LTA is incredible…. I use it … would not trade without it

🎯 Malcolm .: Posted in room 2, @Rick… I used the LTA Scanner to go through hundreds of stocks this weekend and picked out three to trade:  PYPL, TGT, and ZS.   Quality patterns and with my trading, up 24%, 7% and 12%…. this program is gold.

🎯 Friday 6/21/19  (10:09 am) Aaron B: Today, my account is at +190% since January. Thanks, RWO HRC Flash Malcolm Thomas Steve Ed Bob S Bob C Mike P and everyone that contributes every day. I love our job.

Hit and Run Candlesticks / Road To Wealth Youtube videos

Disclosure: We do not act on all trades we mention, and not all mentions acted on the day of the mention. All trades we mention are for your consideration only.

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

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

Markets gapped higher between 0.3% and 0.5% at the open Monday.  However, this was met by a face-ripping selloff that lasted until about 12:30 pm on fears over the holiday surge and the new, more contagious virus strain.  The rest of the day was a sideways grind with a slight bullish bent to i. However, stocks closed closer to their lows than to the Open.  This left us with large Bearish Engulfing candles in all 3 major indices, albeit with lower wicks.  On the day, SPY lost 1.36%, DIA lost 1.13%, and QQQ lost 1.41%.  The VXX gained almost 9% to 18.25 and T2122 fell sharply and now sits at 31.19.  10-year bond yields were flat at 0.915% and Oil (WTI) fell over 2% to $47.36/barrel.

In a bizarre turnaround, the NYSE announced it will not delist the 3 Chinese telecom companies in order to comply with a Presidential Executive Order.  So, China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom will all remain listed for now.

An interesting tidbit out of the UK.  Since the first of the year, the cost of moving freight to the UK from Europe has quadrupled due to extra turmoil from Brexit.  This was also complicated by the extra testing requirements at the border around the new virus strain.  This news came as the UK enters its third national lockdown.

Related to the virus itself, US infections continue to rage as the US.  The totals have risen to 21,353,051 confirmed cases and 362,123 deaths.  The post-holiday surge is still not fully upon us.  However, the 7-day daily average remains high at 218,967 new cases and 2,702 deaths per day.  So far, the US has vaccinated only 4.5 million people (less than 25% of 2020 goal), but has distributed well over 15 million doses.  So, the hold-up is the logistics of administering the shots.  Due to the extreme requirements for storage temperatures, relatively few locations in each state have the vaccine and this added to a system strain of all the new cases has slowed vaccinations.  As an example of system load, Los Angeles ambulance crews were told to make triage decisions and not transport patients with little chance of survival, because the hospitals have no capacity left for such patients.

Globally, the numbers rose to 86,197,384 confirmed cases and the confirmed deaths are now at 1,863,113 deaths.  As a reference, the world is averaging about 622,939 new cases and 11,170 new deaths per day.  As mentioned, the UK imposed another national lockdown to fight the strain on their NHS caused by the new virus variant. A Cabinet Minister went further to say that UK citizens should not be traveling under any circumstances.  Elsewhere in Europe, Italy has decided to extend its own lockdown measures at least another two weeks and Germany is discussing an extension of their own quarantine with regional leaders.

Overnight, Asian markets were mostly green again.  Thailand (+2.62%), South Korea (+1.57%), and Shenzhen (+1.50%) were the strong outliers with most exchanges moving much more modestly and mostly to the upside.  However, in Europe, markets are mostly red with only a few clinging to the green side of flat.  Among the 3 major European bourses, the FTSE (-0.09%) is just red, while the DA (-0.64%) and CAC (-0.71%) are more typical of the continent at mid-day.  As of 7:30 am, US Futures are just on the red side of flat.  The DIA is implying a -0.17% open, the SPY implying a -0.15% open, and the QQQ implying a -0.10% open at this point.

The major economic news for Tuesday is limited to Dec. ISM Mfg. PMI and Dec. ISM Mfg. Employment (both at 10 am) and a Fed speaker (Williams at 3:45 pm).  There are no major earnings reports on the day.

After a rough start to 2021, markets seem to be pausing to check the wind direction. This may be due to waiting on the GA Senate elections, the Republican theatre to placate conspiracy theories, or even waiting to see the depths of post-holiday virus impacts. Regardless, there is no strong direction in pre-market this morning.

Lock in those base hit profits where you can and stick to your discipline.  Follow the trend, respect support and resistance, and don’t chase moves you have missed.  Focus on the chart and your trading process. Remember that trading is a marathon, not a sprint.  So, don’t feel like you need to trade every day.

Ed

Swing Trade Ideas for your consideration and watchlist: WMT, AUY, LMNX, UTHR, TPR, KL. Trade your plan, take profits along the way, and smart. Also, remember to check for impending earnings reports. Finally, remember that any tickers we mention and talk about in the trading room are not recommendations to buy or sell.

🎯 Mike Probst: Rick, Got CTL off the scanner today. Already up 30%. Love it.

🎯 Dick Carp: the scanner paid for the year with HES-thank you

🎯 Arnoldo Bolanos: LTA scanner really works $$, thanks Ed.

🎯 Bob S: LTA is incredible…. I use it … would not trade without it

🎯 Malcolm .: Posted in room 2, @Rick… I used the LTA Scanner to go through hundreds of stocks this weekend and picked out three to trade:  PYPL, TGT, and ZS.   Quality patterns and with my trading, up 24%, 7% and 12%…. this program is gold.

🎯 Friday 6/21/19  (10:09 am) Aaron B: Today, my account is at +190% since January. Thanks, RWO HRC Flash Malcolm Thomas Steve Ed Bob S Bob C Mike P and everyone that contributes every day. I love our job.

Hit and Run Candlesticks / Road To Wealth Youtube videos

Disclosure: We do not act on all trades we mention, and not all mentions acted on the day of the mention. All trades we mention are for your consideration only.

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

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

Markets opened relatively flat on New Year’s Eve.  However, after some normal volatility, the bulls won out.  All 3 major indices closed at new all-time high Closes (but not above prior intraday highs). The large-caps both printed “Morning Star type” candle patterns and the QQQ printed a Bullish Harami (of the Spinning Top variety).  On the day, the DIA gained 0.55%, the SPY gained 0.51%, and the QQQ gained 0.25%.  VXX was flat at 16.79 and T2122 (4-week New High/Low Ratio) inched up just outside of the overbought territory at 79.59.  10-year bond yields were flat at 0.916% and Oil (WTI) was also flat at $48.42/barrel.

In business news over the long weekend, TSLA reported they just missed its goal of shipping 500,000 cars in 2020, coming up just 450 cars short of the milestone.  Bitcoin also rallied above $34,000 for the first time.  And the NYSE delisted 3 Chinese telecom companies as required by President Trumps November executive order.  China vowed some unspecified retaliation on Saturday. In early Monday news, 226 GOOG employees have formed a union after ongoing disputes with management.

On the political front, the new Congress was sworn in. The Senate also completed the process by voting to override the President’s veto of the $740 billion Defense Spending bill (now law). The same leadership was re-elected on either side of the aisle in both Houses, while the President continues to pressure and plot ways to overthrown his election defeat. This runs against the backdrop of the GA Senate runoff elections that are likely to leave the Republicans in control of the Senate but are very close races according to most pundits. No legislative agenda (such as a vote on raising stimulus payments to $2,000) is likely to take place until after those results.

Related to the virus itself, US infections continue to rage as the US.  The totals have risen to 21,113,528 confirmed cases and 360,078 deaths.  The post-holiday surge is still not fully upon us.  However, the 7-day daily average remains high at 216,886 new cases and 2,696 deaths per day.  Three more states have identified cases of the new strain of COVID-19 over the weekend.  Most experts have been saying they believe the new strain is already everywhere.  On Sunday, the federal government said it is in talks with the FDA to possibly speed up the rate of vaccinations by giving half doses of the MRNA vaccine to twice as many people.

Globally, the numbers rose to 85,579,769 confirmed cases and the confirmed deaths are now at 1,852,389 deaths.  As a reference, the world is averaging about 613,548 new cases and 11,066 new deaths per day.  The new strain first seen in the UK has now been found in 37 countries as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan.  Parts of Japan are going back into lockdown.  There is also now a different mutation out of South Africa. Oxford scientists say this strain has substantial changes in the structure of the virus and is therefore concerning related to current vaccine effectiveness.  British Health Minister Hancock said it is too early to tell, but he is incredibly worried about the new variant. In an interesting story, Bloomberg says France is approaching vaccinations in a very cautious way, having only completed 500 of the first round of shots to date, despite starting the same day as all other European countries.

Overnight, Asian markets were mostly green.  Malaysia (-1.51%) and Japan (-0.68%) were outliers.  However, South Korea (+2.47%), Shenzhen (+2.45%), and Australia (+1.47%) led the rest of the Asian exchanges higher.  This came despite Chinese Dec. Mfg. PMI data coming in below expectations.  In Europe, markets are solidly green across the board so far on Monday.  Among the big 3 bourses, FTSE (+2.59%) leads the way with the CAC (+1.52%) and DAX (+1.08%) more typical across the continent.  As of 7:30 am, US Futures are pointing to a moderate gap higher at the open.  The DIA is implying a +0.47% gap, the SPY a +0.43% gap, and the QQQ a 0.41% gap higher.

The major economic news for Monday is limited to Dec. Mfg. PMI (9:45 am) and a Fed speaker (Bostic at 10 am).  There are no major earnings reports on the day. 

The bulls seem to want to start off the new year on a small gap higher. With much of the big money expected to return to the office today, we may see some optimism coming off their vacation. For whatever reason, Bitcoin has taken a major Monday hit (down 10%) after having reached all-time highs.

Focus on the chart and your trading process. Lock in those base hit profits and maintain your discipline.  Follow the trend, respect support and resistance, and don’t chase moves you have missed.  Remember that trading is a marathon, not a sprint.  So, don’t try to get rich quick.  Do it in the long-run by hitting goals over and over again.

Ed

Swing Trade Ideas for your consideration and watchlist: COMM, TFC, TXN, SWCH, JNPR, HON, ORBC, AVTR, WFC. Trade your plan, take profits along the way, and smart. Also, remember to check for impending earnings reports. Finally, remember that any tickers we mention and talk about in the trading room are not recommendations to buy or sell.

🎯 Mike Probst: Rick, Got CTL off the scanner today. Already up 30%. Love it.

🎯 Dick Carp: the scanner paid for the year with HES-thank you

🎯 Arnoldo Bolanos: LTA scanner really works $$, thanks Ed.

🎯 Bob S: LTA is incredible…. I use it … would not trade without it

🎯 Malcolm .: Posted in room 2, @Rick… I used the LTA Scanner to go through hundreds of stocks this weekend and picked out three to trade:  PYPL, TGT, and ZS.   Quality patterns and with my trading, up 24%, 7% and 12%…. this program is gold.

🎯 Friday 6/21/19  (10:09 am) Aaron B: Today, my account is at +190% since January. Thanks, RWO HRC Flash Malcolm Thomas Steve Ed Bob S Bob C Mike P and everyone that contributes every day. I love our job.

Hit and Run Candlesticks / Road To Wealth Youtube videos

Disclosure: We do not act on all trades we mention, and not all mentions acted on the day of the mention. All trades we mention are for your consideration only.

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

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

Markets gapped higher about half a percent again Tuesday.  However, after the gap, the rest of the day saw a roller coaster selloff.  This caused large black Bearish Engulfing candles in the large-cap indices and a Black Spinning-Top type candle in the QQQ.  However, it is worth noting the QQQ also closed at yet another all-time high.  Part of the reason behind the post-gap selloff might be that Tuesday was the last day to sell (or buy) and have the trade settled before year-end.  On the day QQQ led at almost flat +0.09%, while the SPY (-0.19%) and DIA (-0.18%) were down slightly on the day.  The VXX rose over 3.6% to 17.43 and T2122 fell to the low side of the midrange at 45.35.  10-year bond yields rose to 0.938% and Oil (WTI) also gained a percent plus to $48.23/barrel.

During the day, Senate Democrats moved for unanimous consent to the increase in direct payments to Americans to $2,000.  However, that was showdown by Senate Majority Leader McConnell.  The “consensus view” is that McConnell will block all attempts for a Senate vote on the direct payments until after the GA Senate runoff elections end next week.  So, the only vote expected in the Senate this week will be a vote on overriding the President’s veto of the $740 billion Defense Spending bill.

Related to the virus itself, US infections continue the winter surge.  The totals have risen to 19,977,704 confirmed cases and 346,579 deaths. The expected post-holiday surge is still a couple of weeks away.  However, the 7-day daily average remains high at 184,221 new cases and the average number of deaths was raised by a record number of new deaths that brought the average to 2,250 deaths per day.  Overnight, a LA Congressman-elect died of Covid. In CA, Governor Newsome extended the stay-at-home order for two regions of the state Tuesday and the new order will stay in place until those regions’ “available ICU bed capacity” rises to at least 15%.  Elsewhere, CO has genetically verified the first case of the new strain of the virus (first seen in the UK) that appears much more contagious, but also has no worse a rate of hospitalizations and is no more deadly than the original strain.  The more concerning point was that the case was found in a man who had no history of travel.  This implies the case was locally transmitted.

Globally, the numbers rose to 82,446,401 confirmed cases and the confirmed deaths are now at 1,799,505 deaths.  As a reference, the world is averaging about 563,575 new cases and 10,321 new deaths per day.  In the UK, they approved the Oxford-AZN vaccine today.  The AZN vaccine is less effective (70%), but also requires much less stringent storage temperatures.  In Asia, countries continue to retighten their borders due to the new strain of virus.  Taiwan and Hong Kong joined the list of countries prohibiting or tightening requirements for International travelers entering the country.  In China, the state-owned pharma company Sinopharm announced data showing their own vaccine is 79.34% effective based on two doses.

Overnight, Asian markets were mixed yet again, but this time leaned to the green side. Hong Kong (+2.18%), South Korea (+1.88%), and Taiwan (+1.49%) led the gainers.  The losses came from smaller exchanges like Indonesia (-0.95%), Thailand (-0.86%), and the larger Japan (-0.45%).  There is a similar story in Europe so far today, but on much more moderate moves.  Among the big 3 bourses, the FTSE (-0.06%) and CAC (-0.02%) are on the red side of flat, while the DAX (+0.08%) is just on the green side of flat.  As of 7:30 am, US futures are pointing to a positive open.  The DIA is implying a gain of +0.29%, the SPY implying a gain of +0.34%, and the QQQ implying a gain of +0.33%.

The major economic news for Wednesday is limited to Nov. Trade Balance and Nov. Retail Inventories (both at 8:30 am), Dec. Chicago PMI (9:45 am), Nov. Pending Home Sales (10 am), and Crude Oil Inventories (10:30 am).  There are no major earnings reports on the day.

With the last day to sell (and get the sale settled before year-end) behind us, the Bulls should have a tailwind today. However, with no earnings and no major recent economic news catalyst, it may not be a strong wind. Also, keep in mind that volume is expected to remain on the light side. 

Focus on working your process and keep your eye on the chart. Lock in those base hit profits and maintain your discipline.  Follow the trend, respect support and resistance, and don’t chase the moves you have missed.  Remember that trading is a marathon, not a sprint.  So, don’t try to get rich quick.  Do it in the long-run by hitting goals over and over again.

Ed

Swing Trade Ideas for your consideration and watchlist: MKC, HWM, NIO, RIOT. Trade your plan, take profits along the way, and smart. Also, remember to check for impending earnings reports. Finally, remember that any tickers we mention and talk about in the trading room are not recommendations to buy or sell.

🎯 Mike Probst: Rick, Got CTL off the scanner today. Already up 30%. Love it.

🎯 Dick Carp: the scanner paid for the year with HES-thank you

🎯 Arnoldo Bolanos: LTA scanner really works $$, thanks Ed.

🎯 Bob S: LTA is incredible…. I use it … would not trade without it

🎯 Malcolm .: Posted in room 2, @Rick… I used the LTA Scanner to go through hundreds of stocks this weekend and picked out three to trade:  PYPL, TGT, and ZS.   Quality patterns and with my trading, up 24%, 7% and 12%…. this program is gold.

🎯 Friday 6/21/19  (10:09 am) Aaron B: Today, my account is at +190% since January. Thanks, RWO HRC Flash Malcolm Thomas Steve Ed Bob S Bob C Mike P and everyone that contributes every day. I love our job.

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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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