Critical Juncture
As indicated in yesterday’s
column, the 855-60 level on the December S&P futures was
going to be key in order to sustain this recent leg up which began on Wednesday.
The possibility still exists, but with Friday here, it will interesting to see
how traders/investors want to be positioned going into the weekend.
HVT has picked up substantially in the
last couple of days. This is not much of a surprise, given that whenever there
is a significant short-term trend change, it accelerates that battle between
bulls and bears. Just last week the bulls were sitting on the sideline
completely demoralized, and that was evident by the lackluster trading.
Today we are fortunate enough to have the release of the Michigan
Consumer Sentiment Number. Any significant deviation from the
consensus reading of 86 will offer us HVT’ers some wonderful volatility
spikes. You need to be in on these since they offer the lowest risk trades in
terms of their payoff.
So depending on how things shape up on the heels of that report, if the
market begins to turn lower and breaks through the 843 level, keep an eye on the
Semiconductors. They were the noticeable laggard yesterday and are trading
around some decent resistance. Not only does this sector have several good HVT
stocks, but by way of the SMHs, can offer some nice position setups
based on the 15- and 60-minute charts.
From a position standpoint, the SMHs will be key in the 19.45 area, a
break of that would be negative and could set the stage for a move down to the
18.10 area.
So, keep your fingers nimble today and keep an eye on the S&P levels
mentioned here. It appears as though there will be some good opportunities.
| Intraday Setups |
|
|
|
|
| Stock | Action |
| AMGN | Long |
| HON | Long |
| MCHP | Long |
| SMH | Short |
| COP | Short |
*Remember, these setups should only be taken with a longer0term
perspective in mind, as well as trading in the general direction of the market.
Key Technical
Numbers (futures):
S&Ps |
Nasdaq |
| *872* | 905 |
| 865 | 894.33 |
| 859.50 | 886.50 |
| 849 | 871.25 |
| *840-42* | 867.50 |
| 837 | 856.50-853 |
| 832 | 845.50 |
| 822 |
* indicates a level which has more significance.
As always, feel free to send me your comments and
questions. See you in TradersWire.