S&P Global PMIs and Michigan Surveys Ahead
Thursday saw the Bears in charge early and then a modest afternoon recovery. SPY gapped down 0.23%, DIA gapped down 0.30%, and QQQ opened 0.15% lower. At that point, all three major indexes followed through to the downside. SPYA and QQQ reached their lows of the day just after 10 a.m. while DIA’s selloff was slower, reaching its low at noon. From those lows, all three major index ETFs put in a long, slow, but steady rebound that took them about half way back to the opening level. This action gave us black-bodied Hammer-type candles in all three, with DIA having a much larger body (relative to its wick) than the other two. All three retested their T-line (8ema) from above during the day with SPY and QQQ passing the test while DIA crossed below and stayed there. With this all said, it is worth remembering that SPY and QQQ are still less than half a percent below Wednesday’s all-time high close and lowly DIA is just two percent below its own all-time high.
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On the day, six of the 10 of the sectors were in the red as Financial Services (-1/19%) was out in front leading the way lower. On the other side, Energy (+0.48%) paced a more tightly-packed group of sectors that held up better and ended in the green. At the same time, SPY lost 0.42%, DIA lost 0.96%, and QQQ lost 0.42%. Meanwhile VXX gained half a percent to close at 41.49 and T2122 fell back just below the midpoint of its mid-range, closing at 43.52. On the bond side, 10-Year Bond yields fell to 4.507% and Oil (WTI) gained 0.39%, closing at $72.53 per barrel. So, Thursday seemed to be a little pullback from those all-time highs in the broad SPY and QQQ indexes. This may have been driven by WMT’s lackluster guidance following its premarket beats on both lines or perhaps just profit-taking. In either case, the Bears did not cause any major damage and were unable to gain momentum. This all happened on below-average volume in SPY and QQQ as well as average volume in DIA.
The major economic news on Thursday includes Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, which came in a bit higher than expected at 219k (compared to a 215k forecast and the prior week’s 214k value). On the ongoing side, Weekly Continuing Jobless Claims were just on the green side of expectations at 1,869k (versus the 1,870k forecast but up from the prior week’s 1,845k reading). At the same time, the Philly Fed Mfg. Employment Index was down to 5.3 (compared to the January 11.9 number). For the headline number, the Philly Fed Mfg. Index was also sharply down to 18.1 (versus a forecast of 19.4 but sharply lower than the January 44.3 reading). Later, the US Leading Economic Indicators were worst than anticipated at -0.3% (compared to a -0.1% forecast and the December +0.1% value). Meanwhile, the EIA Weekly Crude Oil Inventories showed a larger-than-predicted inventory build of 4.633 million barrels (versus a +3.200-million-barrel forecast and the previous week’s +4.070-million-barrel number). Finally, after the close, the Fed Balance Sheet showed a significant (relatively speaking) decrease of $32 billion for the week, ending at $6.782 trillion.
In Fed news, on Wednesday, Atlanta Fed President Bostic told Yahoo Finance, “I’ve been really comfortable with the idea that we would take a pause and wait and see how the economy’s evolving and then use that information to guide what our policy should look like over the next several months.” He went on to say Trump’s tariff’s (followed by their postponement and revision) makes it extremely hard to figure out inflation direction in the economy. Bostic went on to say, “I definitely want to make sure that before jumping to any conclusions, I see precisely what the policies are.” At the same time, Fed Vice Chair Jefferson said, “The performance of the U.S. economy has been quite strong overall.” He went on to say that the Fed can take its time before making any more moves, saying, “I believe that, with a strong economy and a solid labor market, we can take our time to assess the incoming data to make any further adjustments to our policy rate.” Later, the January FOMC Meeting Minutes were released. Those minutes showed the FOMC is worried about tariffs and their impact on inflation. The minutes noted that Fed policy is “significantly less restrictive” than it was before the rate cuts began, giving FOMC members time to evaluate conditions before making any additional moves. The report went on to indicate committee members were worried about “Upside risks to the inflation outlook. In particular, participants cited the possible effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy.”
In Fed news, on Thursday, Chicago Fed President Goolsbee said he does not expect (the FOMC’s favorite inflation indicator) the PCE to be as “sobering” as the recent CPI data. Goolsbee said, “The CPI number was not great, (but) … The PCE number is probably going to still be not great, but it’s not (likely to be) as sobering as the CPI number.” Meanwhile, Atlanta Fed President Bostic told Reuters Trump policy and policy impact uncertainty are impacting the Fed and companies he is speaking with. He said “his baseline expectation” is for two quarter-percentage-point rate cuts later this year. However, “the uncertainty around that expectation is pretty significant … There’s a lot that could happen that could influence that in both directions.” At the same time, St. Louis Fed President Musalem told a New York audience “Market and some survey measures indicate that near-term expectations of inflation have risen notably over the past three months.” He went on to say, “(if that does not change,) a more restrictive path of monetary policy relative to the baseline path (a rate hike) might be appropriate.” Finally, Fed Governor Kugler said that “(US inflation) still has some way to go.” She went on to comment on the lack of clarity Trump administration policy and its effects, saying “The potential net effect of new economic policies also remains highly uncertain and will depend on the breadth, duration, reactions to, and, importantly, specifics of the measures adopted.” She went on to state the obvious, “Going forward, in considering the appropriate federal funds rate, we will watch these developments closely and continue to carefully assess the incoming data and evolving outlook.”
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After the close, AMN, BKNG, CENX, COKE, FIX, ED, CPRT, DBX, EXPI, FND, FNF, GMED, PODD, LYV, MELI, NEM, RXT, REZI, RNG, SFM, TXRH, and VICI all reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines. Meanwhile, EGO, NU, RYI, WSC, and WKC missed on revenue while beating on earnings. On the other side, AKAM, BCC, FG, FYBR, RIVN, and SEM beat on revenue while missing on earnings. However, XYZ, CGAU, EVH, GLOB, IAG, RYAN, and RHP missed on both the top and bottom lines.
Overnight, Asian markets were mostly green with just three of the 12 exchanges below break-even. China led the region with Hong Kong (+3.99%) was way out in front followed by Shenzhen (+1.82%) and Taiwan (+1.03%). In Europe, we see a similar picture taking shape with 12 of the 14 bourses in the green at midday. The CAC (+0.54%), DAX (+0.22%), and FTSE (+0.13%) lead the continent higher on broad-based gains in early afternoon trade. In the US, as of 7:35 a.m., Futures are pointing toward a mixed start to the morning. The DIA implies a-0.29% open, while SPYU is implying a +0.07% open, and QQQ implies a +0.30% open at this hour. At the same time, 10-Year Bond Yields are down to 4.488% and Oil (WTI) is off 0.91% to $71.82 per barrel in early trading.
The major economic news scheduled for Friday includes Preliminary S&P Global Mfg. PMI, Preliminary S&P Services PMI, and Preliminary S&P Global Composite PMI (all at 9:45 a.m.), January Existing Home Sales, Michigan Consumer Sentiment, Michigan Consumer Expectations, Michigan Consumer 1-Year Inflation Expectations, and Michigan Consumer 5-Year Inflation Expectations (all at 10 a.m.). The major earnings reports scheduled for before the open include TDS, TXNM, and VIPS. Then after the close, HE reports.
So far this morning, TDS and VIPS have reported beats on both the revenue and earnings lines. Meanwhile, TXNM missed on revenue while coming in in-line on earnings.
With that background, the market does look truly undecided or perhaps rotational at this point of the premarket. DIA gapped down and has printed a larger, black-body candle with no lower wick so far this morning. At the same time, SPY opened modestly lower and QQQ opened modestly higher in the early session. However, they have both printed white-body candles with no wick and QQQ is giving a larger-body candle to boot. So, SPY is above, QQQ is above and pulling away, and DIA is below and pulling away from their T-lines (8ema). So, the short-term trend is mixed, but modestly bullish in the broader indexes with the DIA pushing against that bias. The mid-term trend remains a choppy sideways mess that is trying to resolve itself bullishly (except DIA which is trying to roll over). At the same time, the long-term trend remains bullish. In terms of extension, none of the three are stretched too far from their T-line. At the same time, the T2122 indicator sits in the center of its mid-range. So, both sides of the market have room to work today if they can find momentum. In terms of the Big Dogs, nine of the 10 are in the green in the premarket. INTC (+0.92%) is out front pacing the gainers while APPL (-0.029%) is the laggard and only Big Dog in the red. As far as liquidity goes, NVDA (+0.03%) leads with TSLA (+0.07%) not too far behind and the next-closest Big Dog having traded only one-third as much as TSLA. However, bear in mind that this is a VERY light-volume premarket session. Also remember that it is Friday, Pay Day, and we have a long weekend news cycle ahead before the market opens Monday. So, prepare your account.
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
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