The bulls kept up the pressure on Tuesday with the technology sector leading the charge. The Semiconductor SPDR (XSD) led tech stocks with a 2.71% surge. There was also strength in the Airline ETF (FAA), which advanced 2% and hit a new 52-week high (intraday). Elsewhere, the Steel ETF (SLX) added another 1.55% and the Metals & Mining SPDR (XME) powered the materials sector with a 1.36% gain.
The Fed meets today and the markets are expecting another quantitative easing announcement. That, at least, is the chatter I am hearing on Bloomberg. More QE would be positive for the stock market and gold, but negative for the Dollar and treasuries. The markets are anticipating this as treasuries fell and stocks moved higher on Tuesday. The Dollar took a hit on Tuesday, but gold did not take advantage of this weakness. The gold-dollar relationship has been a bit strange the last three weeks. Also note that oil remains under pressure.
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Key Reports and Events:
Wed - Dec 12 - 07:00 - MBA Mortgage Index
Wed - Dec 12 - 10:30 - Oil Inventories
Wed - Dec 12 - 12:30 - FOMC Rate Decision
Thu - Dec 13 - 08:30 - Jobless Claims
Thu - Dec 13 - 08:30 - Retail Sales
Thu - Dec 13 - 08:30 – Producer Price Index (PPI)
Fri - Dec 14 - 08:30 – Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Fri - Dec 14 - 09:15 - Industrial Production/Capacity Utilization
Charts of Interest: Tuesday and Thursday
This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise). We all need to think for ourselves when it comes to trading our own accounts. First, it is the only way to really learn. Second, we are the only ones responsible for our decisions. Think of these charts as food for further analysis. Before making a trade, it is important to have a plan. Plan the trade and trade the plan. Among other things, this includes setting a trigger level, a target area and a stop-loss level. It is also important to plan for three possible price movements: advance, decline or sideways. Have a plan for all three scenarios BEFORE making the trade. Consider possible holding times. And finally, look at overall market conditions and sector/industry performance.
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Key Reports and Events:
Wed - Dec 12 - 07:00 - MBA Mortgage Index
Wed - Dec 12 - 10:30 - Oil Inventories
Wed - Dec 12 - 12:30 - FOMC Rate Decision
Thu - Dec 13 - 08:30 - Jobless Claims
Thu - Dec 13 - 08:30 - Retail Sales
Thu - Dec 13 - 08:30 – Producer Price Index (PPI)
Fri - Dec 14 - 08:30 – Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Fri - Dec 14 - 09:15 - Industrial Production/Capacity Utilization
Charts of Interest: Tuesday and Thursday
This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise). We all need to think for ourselves when it comes to trading our own accounts. First, it is the only way to really learn. Second, we are the only ones responsible for our decisions. Think of these charts as food for further analysis. Before making a trade, it is important to have a plan. Plan the trade and trade the plan. Among other things, this includes setting a trigger level, a target area and a stop-loss level. It is also important to plan for three possible price movements: advance, decline or sideways. Have a plan for all three scenarios BEFORE making the trade. Consider possible holding times. And finally, look at overall market conditions and sector/industry performance.
About the author:
Arthur Hill, CMT, is the Chief Technical Strategist at TrendInvestorPro.com. Focusing predominantly on US equities and ETFs, his systematic approach of identifying trend, finding signals within the trend, and setting key price levels has made him an esteemed market technician. Arthur has written articles for numerous financial publications including Barrons and Stocks & Commodities Magazine. In addition to his Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designation, he holds an MBA from the Cass Business School at City University in London.
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