Pre-market update (updated 8:00am eastern):

  • Europe is trading 0.2% higher.
  • Asian markets traded 0.6% higher.
  • US futures are slightly higher.

Economic reports due out (all times are eastern): MBA Purchase Applications (7am), Import and Export Prices (8:30am), EIA Petroleum Status Report (10:30am), FOMC Meeting Announcement (12:30pm), FOMC Forecasts (2pm), Treasury Budget (2pm), Bernanke Press Conference (2:15pm)  

Technical Outlook (SPX):

  • For the fifth straight day, the SPX traded higher on the day. 
  • There’s a negative divergence on the RSI and other similar indicators where it failed to make a higher high against the previous highs of this month. 
  • We are seeing similar price action to what what occurred off of the June lows. Assuming as much, it would lead me to believe we’ll see a pullback in the next 3 days. 
  • We are slightly in overbought territory now. 
  • Volume ticked notably higher yesterday. 
  • We have the FOMC Statement which typically adds unusual intraday activity for the markets. 
  • There’s an inverse head and shoulders pattern forming on SPX daily chart that is confirmed at 1422. 
  • Price action showing a downtrend off of the October highs was broken Monday on SPX. 
  • Current uptrend off of the November lows is steep, but not atypical for new rallies. Overtime the up-ward trend-line will flatten out some. 
  • 8-day EMA continues to provide rising support for the markets in the short-term. 
  • Ideally for the bulls, if price action can close at or above 1429, the downtrend off of the September highs would be officially done and over with, as a new higher high would be established for the first time. 
  • Fiscal Cliff discussions continues to dominate the news. 
  • SPX currently has recaptured the 10, 20, 50, and 200-day moving averages. 
  • VIX closed below 16.

My Opinions & Trades:

  • Day Traded S and bought and closed it at $3.56 for no gain .
  • Sold EVER at $14.76 for a -1.0% loss. 
  • Remain long SIG at $54.01, EW at $91.01, AL at $22.70, LULU at $73.01.
  • I’ll be looking to add 1-2 new positions to the portfolio today. 
  • Here is my real-time swing-trading portfolio and past-performance

Chart for SPX:

S and P 500 Market Analysis 12-12-12