stock price trading

Stock Trading Alert: Positive Expectations Following Earnings Releases, But Will The Market Continue Higher?

July 20, 2016, 6:56 AM

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 U.S. stock market indexes were mixed between -0.4% and +0.1% on Tuesday, extending their short-term fluctuations, as investors took some profits off the table. The S&P 500 index continues to trade close to its recent all-time high at the level of 2,169.05. The nearest important level of resistance is at 2,170, and the next potential resistance level is at 2,200. On the other hand, support level is at around 2,150-2,155, marked by short-term local lows. The next important support level is at 2,130-2,135, marked by previous level of resistance. There have been no confirmed negative signals so far. However, we can see some short-term overbought conditions accompanied by negative technical divergences:

Daily S&P 500 index chart - SPX, Large Cap Index

Expectations before the opening of today's trading session are positive, with index futures currently up 0.3-0.4%. The European stock market indexes have gained 0.2-1.4% so far. Investors will now wait for the Crude Inventories number release at 10:30 a.m. The S&P 500 futures contract trades within an intraday uptrend, as it retraces its recent decline. It currently trades close to all-time high level. The nearest important level of resistance is at around 2,165-2,170. On the other hand, support level remains at 2,150, as we can see on the 15-minute chart:

S&P 500 futures contract - S&P 500 index chart - SPX

The technology Nasdaq 100 futures contract follows a similar path, as it currently trades within an intraday uptrend. The nearest important support level is at around 4,590-4,600. On the other hand, resistance level is at 4,620-4,630, among others. There have been no confirmed negative signals so far:

Nasdaq100 futures contract - Nasdaq 100 index chart - NDX

Concluding, the broad stock market extended its short-term consolidation on Tuesday, following breakout above last year's high. The S&P 500 index trades close to its new all-time high of 2,169.05. We still can see short-term overbought conditions accompanied by bearish technical divergences. Therefore, we continue to maintain our speculative short position (opened yesterday at around 2,162 - yesterday's average opening price of the 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
Stock Trading Alerts

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