The reversal off the December lows was sharp, powerful, and even record-setting. The chart of the Standard & Poors 500 Index ($SPX) has returned to a bullish status, now that new all-time intraday and closing highs have been registered.
In nearly 45 years of trading, I don't think I've ever seen a market as wild as the one has been this month. Let's review the entire technical picture. First of all, the chart of $SPX has not yet returned to a bullish state. $SPX would have to trade at new highs (above 2080) in order to turn the chart bullish again.
We're proud to announce the latest installment of Lawrence G. McMillan's Intensive Option Webinar series titled "The Secrets Behind McMillan's Trading Systems." This series of 6 webinars will cover each of the major systems we monitor that have been succesffully calling market turns for years. Topics include:
We have traditionally used the mBB system only with respect to the $SPX. It has worked well there, as we have had some very successful mBB signals this year: a buy signal in February, a sell signal in September, a buy signal in October, and now another sell signal recently. The only incorrect signal this year was a sell signal in June ($SPX eventually fell in late July, but no reasonable trader would have still been holding a short that was established in early June).
This year, Christmas falls on the 4th Thursday, and the stock market will be open for a half day on Friday, December 26th. We will publish our next issue sometime in the morning of Friday, December 26th.
We are planning a new series of six seminars, one each on the major systems that we use to trade the markets. Each of these had a major profit with buy signals near the October lows, and all have long-term successful track records. Stay tuned for schedules, pricing, and subscription information.
When the tech boom of the 1990's collapsed, the NASDAQ Composite Index ($COMPQ) and other related indices (NASDAQ 100: $NDX) and their ETF’s (QQQ) collapsed as well. The highs that were set in 2000 seemed as if they would never be breached, and they haven’t been – so far. But with nearly everything else having recovered to new all-time highs, one wonders if the same could happen for the NASDAQ indices.
For the record, here are the peaks, peak dates, and current prices:
Various indicators have been turning bearish since mid- November. But until this week, $SPX itself had not broken down, and since price is "king," that was quite important. However, now $SPX has broken down, as it has fallen below support at 2050. This completes a bearish pattern, and a full-fledged correction is underway. This could be sharp and short-lived, and since it is taking place late in the calendar year (when seasonal bullishness occurs), that is probably the case.
The latest release of Option Workbench has a new look and feel and contains a ton of new features including earnings data, position editor enhancements, position creation, position management and a portfolio monitor. A one month free trial is now available by clicking here and using Coupon Code: FreeOWB.
Read the release notes below for a more detailed explanation and watch the video.
The stock market, as measured by the Standard & Poors 500 Index ($SPX), sold off for a couple of days and then rebounded quickly to new all-time intraday and closing highs. However, sell signals and overbought conditions abound, so all is not bullish.
With $SPX making new all-time highs, its chart is bullish, and the trend of the market is higher. Price is the most important indicator. That has not changed.
The feature article discusses a protection technique – collar buying – that is favored by many sophisticated stock owners, including institutional traders.