Briefly: In our opinion, speculative short positions are favored (with stop-loss at 2,210, and profit target at 2,050, S&P 500 index).

Our intraday outlook is bearish, and our short-term outlook is bearish. Our medium-term outlook is now neutral, following S&P 500 index breakout above last year's all-time high:

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

The main U.S. stock market indexes gained between 1.3% and 1.8% on Monday, retracing most of their Friday's move down, as investors' sentiment improved again. The S&P 500 index remains below its two-month-long consolidation following June - July rally. Is this a new downtrend or just quick downward correction? The nearest important level of resistance is at around 2,170, marked by Friday's daily gap down of 2,169.08-2,177.49. On the other hand, support level is at 2,120-2,130, marked by recent local lows, as we can see on the daily chart:

Expectations before the opening of today's trading session are negative, with index futures currently down 0.5%. The European stock market indexes have gained 0.3-0.5% so far. The S&P 500 futures contract trades within an intraday downtrend, as it retraces some of its yesterday's rebound. The nearest important level of resistance is at 2,160, marked by local high. On the other hand, support level is at 2,100-2,120, among others, as the 15-minute chart shows:

The technology Nasdaq 100 futures contract follows a similar path, as it retraces some of its yesterday's move up. The nearest important support level is at 4,700. On the other hand, resistance level is at around 4,780-4,800, marked by previous level of support:

Concluding, the broad stock market has managed to retrace most of its Friday's decline yesterday. For now, it looks like an upward correction following that sell-off. Therefore, we continue to maintain our speculative short position (opened on July 18th at 2,162, S&P 500 index). Stop-loss level is at 2,210 and potential profit target is at 2,050 (S&P 500 index). You can trade S&P 500 index using futures contracts (S&P 500 futures contract - SP, E-mini S&P 500 futures contract - ES) or an ETF like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF - SPY. It is always important to set some exit price level in case some events cause the price to move in the unlikely direction. Having safety measures in place helps limit potential losses while letting the gains grow.

Thank you.

Paul Rejczak
Stock Trading Strategist
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