Author name: mome2143

Pre-Market Update: The bulls weathered Monday’s storm, but their home base at higher highs is being threatened once again. I mentioned that yesterday’s opening hour would be an interesting test for the bulls, and they did not fail to impress.

Pre-Market Update: The three-week winning streak for the bulls ended last Wednesday as the bears pushed the market’s backup support levels. “Brexit” concerns, oil and the financial stocks were the main culprits that were blamed for the pullback — at least, that’s what the talking heads were saying.

Pre-Market Update: Thursday’s pullback represented a tug-of-war between the bulls and bears that left slight hints about how today’s action might play out. I don’t expect a breakout or breakdown from the mini trading ranges that are forming until maybe next week. However, today’s action could provide pivotal clues as to how we should prepare for new trades over the next few weeks.

Pre-Market Update: The bulls showed some follow-through on Wednesday and pushed key resistance levels in their bid to return to all-time highs. The bears are still lingering, but they seem reluctant to engage. I’m still expecting a strong surge towards the market’s upper resistance levels, and that could come this week or next.

Pre-Market Update: The bulls pushed higher highs on Tuesday, but the lag in tech spoiled the session, as most of the overall gains were lost into the closing bell. Volatility was calm until the final hour of trading, with the bears pushing resistance. The mixed action still looked bullish, but, as always, I’m watching the warning signs.

Pre-Market Update: The slick-talking pros spent some time debating why the market surged on Monday, with roughly half of them saying that the dovish comments by Fed Chair Janet Yellen were bullish for the market. Anticipation is building for the June Fed meeting that may or may not result in an interest-rate hike, but Yellen instead reiterated that gradual rate hikes are likely appropriate. The other half of the suits-and-ties were citing the spike in oil for the rally past resistance.

Pre-Market Update: The bears pushed lower lows almost every morning throughout last week, but the bulls powered back each afternoon to test higher highs, excluding Friday’s session. The Dow fell 66 points, while the S&P 500 eked out a slim gain. The Nasdaq added 9 points, and the Russell 2000 jumped 14 points, or over 1%, for the week.

Pre-Market Update: Thursday’s session showed signs of lower lows and higher highs, which kept Wall Street on its heels, and the action could continue to heat up with today’s jobs report and the other economic news that will hit the tape going into Friday’s close.

Pre-Market Update: Wednesday’s action carried over from Tuesday’s session, and the major indices traded within a tight range to give the bulls the overall market win. The bears did make some noise, however, as they pushed lower lows at the open before rolling over. The bulls then went on to test higher highs into the close after holding support, but it was another dead-money session.

Pre-Market Update: Much of Tuesday’s drama was focused on the Dow’s 100-point gain in May and, while the bears tried their best to steal a slice of the pie, the bulls did enough into the close to get a clean sweep for the month.

Pre-Market Update: The bulls have weathered the storm in May, and they could come out of it smelling like roses. The “sell in May and go away” theme was bearish for much of the month, but it eventually turned into a buying frenzy. Today is the last trading day of the month, so the score still hasn’t been settled. However, I have a good feel for where there market could be going and how we are going to play the next few weeks of action.

Pre-Market Update: Thursday’s action was a little tighter following a bullish week and run to resistance. The bears are still lingering and looking to get aggressive ahead of the three-day weekend. The bulls will be looking to hold support.

Pre-Market Update: Due to some unexpected changes to my travel plans at the last minute, this will be an abbreviated update. The good news is that both of the Stop Limits for our current positions held into the close yesterday, and I do not have any adjustments to make to our trades at this time.

Pre-Market Update: We tried our best to play yesterday’s rebound rally and the surge past resistance with iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM, $112.94, up $2.28) calls, but our orders ultimately went unfilled. The pros are now questioning whether the blast higher was a short-covering rally or a dead-cat bounce, which are fancy terms meant to confuse the rookies like you and I, but it is trouble playing ball with them sometimes.

Pre-Market Update: The major indices traded within a tight range on both sides of the ledger on Monday before closing lower. However, the losses were held in check, as the continued trading range carries on.

Pre-Market Update: The bears pushed fresh lower lows last week to crack levels last seen in late March and early April. However, the bulls once again showed signs of life on Friday, which has me feeling semi-bullish going into mid-June, although the six-week trading range I have been warning about is still in play to some degree.

Pre-Market Update: While today’s headline might be scary, it reflects my thoughts on the current market action. Thursday’s pullback can be tied to a variety of factors, but there was still some bullish action going on despite the negativity. The bears have controlled the week so far, and the lower trading ranges for the major indices are in play. However, if the bulls battle back today, next week will be interesting — to say the least.

Pre-Market Update: I felt that the headline above was appropriate for this morning’s Pre-Market Update considering the action during yesterday’s trading session, which included wild price swings, mixed results among the major indices and some bullish and bearish signs. Obviously, the Fed minutes were in play, and volatility was heightened, so let’s go figure it out in simple terms, or at least try to do so.

Pre-Market Update: The bears did some major damage on Tuesday, especially heading into the closing bell, and the continued trading range from mid-April is on the verge collapsing. Of course, the bulls have shown resiliency over the past month, but yesterday’s action may have confirmed that lower lows could be coming quickly.

Pre-Market Update: Apple (AAPL, $93.88, up $3.36) shares rallied nearly 4% on Monday following the news that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway had disclosed a new position in the company. Berkshire reported that it owned over 9.8 million shares of Apple as of the end of the first quarter, or the end of March.

Pre-Market Update: The bears pushed lower lows on Friday despite opening slightly higher. It was the third-straight week of losses for the bulls, and the Dow and S&P 500 closed below their 50-day moving averages. Volatility also closed above a key level of resistance, and the “head-and-shoulders” technical pattern I warned about a few weeks ago has finally developed.

Pre-Market Update: The market was choppy and somewhat subdued on Thursday following two back-to-back days of 1% moves. The major indices stayed within a narrow range yesterday, although they traded on both sides of the ledger.

Pre-Market Update: The see-saw action on Wall Street continued on Wednesday as the bears rebounded from Tuesday’s drubbing to return the favor. Near-term support held, however, as the bulls played defense throughout the day before being saved by the closing bell.

Pre-Market Update: The bulls showed some moxie on Tuesday and regained some of their lost momentum as they pushed the market’s upper resistance levels. Volatility also slid to its lowest level in two weeks, although the bears held support. Lost in the shuffle was that the market could be on the verge of re-entering the upper trading range from early April that has limited upside.

Pre-Market Update: The market moved within a tight range on Monday, and the major indices traded on both sides of the ledger following the pullback in the price of WTI crude oil. While there were other factors in play, the 2% drop in oil caught traders off guard, and it did not offer any real clues on how the current trading range might unfold.

Pre-Market Update: The bulls rebounded to get a clean sweep on Friday, as the market ended the week on a positive note. The bears still won the week, however, and they did some damage after forcing a lower trading range into play, which could become very volatile at some point this month.

Pre-Market Update: The market traded within a tight range on Thursday ahead of this morning’s jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lower lows came into play, but today’s session should provide additional clues as to how next week is likely to play out.

Pre-Market Update: It was another bearish day on Wall Street yesterday, and the major indices retreated to their backup support levels. There wasn’t much of a rebound off of the lows either, as the bulls wasted their energy at the open.

Pre-Market Update: The bears did their part to keep the current trading range intact yesterday, as they recovered the bullish gains on Monday and then some. The lower highs and lower lows are becoming a fresh worry that is signaling additional weakness ahead.

Pre-Market Update: The bulls rebounded on Monday to get the bears off of their backs, and they were able to regain key resistance levels for the market that had previously served as support. The higher close to start the week was bullish, as was the fact that the VIX fell back below 15. The rest of the week promises to be exciting as earnings season reaches its peak, and Friday’s unemployment numbers could cause some fireworks as well.

Pre-Market Update: The bulls were looking strong throughout April, but the historical end-of-month weakness helped the bears earn a slice of the pie. The bullish momentum has clearly been lost, and many of the suits-and-ties are now saying that they “predicted” the pullback.

Pre-Market Update: Thursday’s action started off bearish before it turned slightly bullish, and then things got a lot worse into the closing bell. The lower lows were a negative development, and volatility broke above key levels of resistance.

Pre-Market Update: The bulls weathered another bearish storm on Wednesday with help from the blue-chips, although the market closed mixed. Financial stocks showed some strength following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged yesterday, but they gave back most of their gains by the close of trading. This also helped the market salvage the pullback in tech, but the action remains choppy.

Pre-Market Update: The bulls tried to regain their footing on Tuesday, but they were once again dragged down by tech. The financial stocks showed strength, although the bears could get aggressive today following the disappointing quarterly numbers from Apple (AAPL, $104.35, down $0.73) and Twitter (TWTR, $17.75, up $0.66).

Pre-Market Update: The bears were aggressive on Monday, but their attempt to crack support failed once again. The bulls did a mighty job of battling back, although they ran out of time before they were able to see green.

Pre-Market Update: The bulls pushed higher highs and showed some signs of continued momentum last week. However, the bears are starting to wake up from a mid-February nap, which should keep things interesting. The major uptrend lines are showing that the action remains bullish, but another mini trading range has developed heading into the last week of April.

Pre-Market Update: The bears had one of their better days of the month during Thursday’s market pullback. On the other hand, the bulls have been trying to build upon last week’s momentum, but they have fallen shy of short-term resistance. The earnings that were released after the close yesterday were disappointing, and backup support could come into play as the news weighs on the major indices.

Pre-Market Update: The first half of Wednesday’s action was slightly choppy despite futures showing a positive open. The bears’ attempt to mount any momentum and make lower lows stalled ahead of Wall Street’s lunch break, as rising support held. The bulls controlled the second half of the action while pushing higher highs, but they continue to struggle with near-term resistance.

Pre-Market Update: Despite the negative tone, the bulls performed well on Tuesday’s open and went on to push higher highs. The bears made a little intraday noise and took a stab at fresh support before rolling over to play dead. Today’s action could provide good clues as to whether higher highs are in store the rest of the week or if the market has reached a short-term peak.

Pre-Market Update: The Dow got all the headlines on Monday, as the index closed above 18,000 for the first time since last July. I’m more focused on other things, however, and I mentioned that International Business Machines (IBM, $152.53, up $0.81) could slow the market’s momentum if the company disappointed Wall Street with its quarterly results. While the company absolutely surprised analysts with a beat on the top and bottom lines, a tempered forecast sent shares tumbling 5% in after-hours trading.

Pre-Market Update: The bulls showed their usual April strength last week as the market broke out to fresh highs for the year. Friday’s slight pullback in the major indices caught all the media attention following another tight session. However, what was missed, or not reported, by the talking heads was the strength in the small-caps and the deflating VIX.

Pre-Market Update: The battle between the bulls and the bears ended in a draw on Thursday, as the market seesawed within a tight trading range before ending pretty much flat. Although it was a boring session overall, the consolidation going into today’s session was a good sign following a strong week. With regular April monthly options expiring after the close today, there could be some movement in what has traditionally been a bullish day for the market.