What Happened On Wed Dec 6 2017
As expected, stocks tried to bounce but failed. “Bad” news out of Citigroup didn’t help the market into the close as they indicated they believed the new tax bill once passed could cost the bank $20 billion. That helped sink the markets into the close. Losses though remain slight and the NASDAQ managed a small gain into the close.
Closing Statistics for Wed Dec 6 2017
S&P 500 Index Close
The S&P index ended down 0.30 to 2629.27
Dow Jones Index Close
The Dow Jones ended down 39.73 to 24,140.91
NASDAQ Index Close
The NASDAQ closed up 14.16 to 6776.38
Stock Market Outlook – Review of Dec 6 2017
Chart Comments At The Close:
On Wednesday the S&P slipped slightly but is still above the 21 day moving average. The closing candlestick is bearish for Thursday.
Losses are still small and all the moving averages are continuing to rise.
Stock Market Outlook: Technical Indicators:
Momentum: For momentum I use a 10 period when studying market direction. Momentum is positive but continuing to fall.
MACD Histogram: For MACD Histogram, I am using the Fast Points set at 13, Slow Points at 26 and Smoothing at 9. MACD (Moving Averages Convergence / Divergence) issued a buy signal on Nov 28. The up signal is losing strength.
Ultimate Oscillator: The Ultimate Oscillator settings are: Period 1 is 5, Period 2 is 10, Period 3 is 15, Factor 1 is 4, Factor 2 is 2 and Factor 3 is 1. These are not the default settings but are the settings I use with the S&P 500 chart set for 1 to 3 months. The Ultimate Oscillator signal is positive but almost neutral.
Slow Stochastic: For the Slow Stochastic I use the K period of 14 and D period of 3. The Slow Stochastic tries to predict the market direction further out than just one day. The Slow Stochastic has a down signal in place for Thursday.
Relative Strength Index: The relative strength index is set for a period of 5 which gives it 5 days of market movement to monitor. It often is the first indicator to show an overbought or oversold signal. The RSI signal turned lower again on Wednesday.
Rate of Change: Rate Of Change is set for a 21 period. This indicator looks back 21 days and compares price action from the past to the present. The rate of change signal is positive but continuing to move lower, signaling lower prices for the next couple of days may occur.
Support Levels To Be Aware Of:
The 2600 is building some light support.
There is good support at the 2550 level which could assist in keeping the index up for December.
The S&P has light support at 2480. It also has light support at 2450 and good support at 2425. Below that there is some support at 2400, 2380, 2350. 2300 has the most support at present.
Stock Market Outlook for Tomorrow – Thu Dec 7 2017
Wednesday’s market action was what was expected. For Thursday we should see a better attempt at a bounce, ahead of Friday’s jobs numbers.
The technical indicators have lost strength but only one has a sell or down signal in place. The rest are pulling back but none have yet to turn negative.
The day before jobs numbers have often been higher. I am anticipating since the markets are not very low despite 3 days of selling, the S&P may try to move higher on Thursday before the numbers are released Friday morning.
Market Direction Internal Links
Profiting From Understanding Market Direction (Articles Index)
Understanding Short-Term Signals
Market Direction Portfolio Trades (Members)
Market Direction External Links
IWM ETF Russell 2000 Fund Info
Market Direction SPY ETF 500 Fund Info