Technical Outlook:

  • Strong day of follow through yesterday that saw SPX reclaim the 10 and 20-day moving averages. 
  • Downtrend off of the 12/29/15 highs was broken yesterday. 
  • Most concerning about the rally is the fact that the volume is non-existent. It was well below recent readings, and even less than yesterday’s low volume output. 
  • SPX is attempting to put together a double bottom narrative that is so far holding true. A close above 1940 on the index is key to change the tide of market sentiment. 
  • Small drop for VIX yesterday at 5.1% down to 24.11 and still very much elevated. I would have expected to see a bigger drop.
  • Another major day for T2108 (% of stocks trading above the 40-day moving average) rising 35% to 31.00, which matches the closing highs from 2/4. 
  • SPX broke the 2/10 highs on the 30 minute chart and as a result established the first higher-high since 2/2. 
  • Be careful with trying to get heavily long at this juncture. The bounce appears very suspect at this point. 
  • Oil has put together a nice rally overnight in an attempt to recapture $30/barrel. 
  • Insane price movements every day being created by computer generated trading (HFT’s) in a highly volatile market marked with enormous headline risk. 
  • There is a lot of stop-loss hunting out there in the market, and being agile with getting in and out of positions quickly has been extremely important. buyers buying stocks

My Trades:

  • Did not add any new swing-trades to the portfolio. 
  • Currently 100% Cash
  • I want to see whether this market can hold the current gains since Friday or whether there will be a fade that provides me with an opportunity to short. I’m open to trading in either direction.  
  • Join me each day for all my real-time trades and alerts in the SharePlanner Splash Zone

Chart for SPX:

SP 500 Market Analysis 2-17-16