Stock Trading Alert originally sent to subscribers on February 18, 2014, 6:52 AM.

Our intraday outlook remains bearish, and our short-term outlook is neutral:

Intraday (next 24 hours) outlook: bearish
Short-term (next 1-2 weeks) outlook: neutral
Medium-term (next 1-3 months) outlook: neutral
Long-term outlook (next year): bullish

The U.S. stock market indexes gained between 0.1% and 0.8% on Friday, extending their recent rally as investors continued to buy stocks at higher levels. The S&P 500 index got close to its January 15 all-time high of 1,850.84 (Friday’s daily high at 1,841.65). The nearest important resistance is at 1,840-1,850. On the other hand, the support remains at 1,800-1,810, marked by the November-December consolidation, among others, as we can see on the daily chart:

Expectations before the opening of today’s session are virtually flat, with index futures currently mixed between -0.1% and 0.0%. The European stock market indexes have lost 0.1-0.5% so far, following weaker-than expected economic data release from Germany. Investors will now wait for some U.S. economic data announcements: Empire Manufacturing number at 8:30 a.m., NAHB Housing Market Index at 10:00 a.m. The S&P 500 futures contract (CFD) trades slightly below its recent highs, fluctuating within a rather narrow range. The resistance is at around 1,840, and the nearest support is at 1,825-1,830, as the 15-minute chart shows:

The technology Nasdaq 100 futures contract (CFD) is in an analogous short-term consolidation, just below its recent highs. The resistance is at around 3,670, and the support is at 3,640-3,650. For now, it looks like a topping consolidation, as the market might retrace some of the recent uptrend:

Thank you.

Paul Rejczak
Stock Trading Strategist
Stock Trading Alerts