Yesterday I said I'd look for a close over the 3 day pivot high to be my indication that the market was ready to move up out of the flag. The markets all traded over their pivot highs but could not close there. So we're now looking at a nicely defined 3 day range which is easily seen on the daily charts. The range sits right on upwardly slopping 10 day moving averages, and on or above a down slopped 50-day moving average. With three days of consolidation and room to move up or down I'd be completely flexible on market bias.
I've included images (below) of this from the 60-minute perspective so you can see the where the real support and resistance is.
If there is a convincing break of this 3 day range I'd follow it. However I'd trade stocks with the expectation that the range in the markets will created a choppy environment until there is a convincing break.
There is plenty of bad news fear and earnings expectations and announcements in the market right now. News in theses areas could be the catalyst that causes a convincing break. To be more mechanical about it, wait for a daily close out side the range.
When this similar scenario occurred a few weeks ago at recent market lows, I walked you through how I use the 60-min charts to guide the bias on a breakout. The same process will happen here. Currently, it wont' take more than several hours to put the market in gear in either direction with the 4-9-18 perspective or the 10,20,50 (shown in charts below). Down however will happen faster so be careful at lows.
JPM is trading higher after slightly better than expected earnings so keep an eye on it today - if it reverses and takes out it's daily swing lows that could be a very negative sign for the market. I don't expect this to happen, but after an initial reaction of "up", a big reversal would be an important market message. Likewise if it gains momentum to the upside it could pull the markets higher.
YUM has been trading in post market over its all time high (57.04) on a good earnings report.
COP is gapping up big on news it may break into 2 companies.
~Long Focus~
YUM
COP
AAPL
NTES
CF
LULU
CELG
POT
IBM
BBBY
ACOM
FCX
~Other Long Charts of Interest~
AMZN
PLCM
NFLX
VHC
BIIB
BWA
LO
AAPL
KLAC
SBUX
YUM
CRM
DECK
PTEN
TGT
VMW
WYNN
~Short Focus~
DE
WHR
MHS
AAP
APKT
~Other Short Charts Of Interest~
SNDK
VECO
MOS
SMG
GS
