The Opportunity At 2:00 PM
“Saving the best for last”… was the
theme for today on the S&P 500 futures. The S&Ps opened at where they left off from
yesterday’s very volatile session, then sold off and went into a trading range
with a head and
shoulders top, a sign that the bears could come in the afternoon and
they did, even if it took them a while. At about 2:00 PM EST the neckline on the
Head and Shoulders and a key retracement point at 895 was broken to the
downside. This created a great opportunity for short sellers. The
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points from the neckline to the close at 875 down 30 points on the day.
The Nasdaq 100 for September
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sold off in similar fashion, and then made a head and shoulders pattern to close
at 997, a big drop from its 1010 neckline. The next support level is at 990.
Look for continued pressure tomorrow, as tomorrow is expiration date for equity
options.
With the exception of natural gas, the energies
all lost ground in lackluster trading, pressured mostly by comments made by the
Venezuelan president to maintain current targets on oil prices. President Hugo
Chavez said his country stands by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries’ target oil price band of between $22 per barrel and $28 per barrel.
Crude oil for August delivery
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slid 30 cents to $27.57 a barrel, August unleaded gasoline
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fell 1.49 cent to 83.84 cents a gallon; August heating oil
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fell 0.78 cents to 70.20 cents a gallon. And August natural gas
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On the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) where grains and beans are traded:
December corn
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earlier trade, corn was trading lower as investors anticipated the impact of
showers forecast across the Midwest. November soybeans
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lower but then turned higher in the midst of investor skepticism that the rains
could affect the dry-soil outlook for beans. Soybeans closed at at $5 3/4
a bushel up 4 cents. Wheat for September
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to $3 3/4.
August gold futures
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$317.10 a troy ounce down .60. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile
Exchange. September silver
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Sept. copper
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