Dow Jones Finally Takes A Slight Breather After Tremendous Star

Technical analyst Dave Chojnacki of Street One Financial examines Tuesday’s ho-hum day for U.S. equities, which follows a massive string of recent gains, and updates the key technical indicators to watch as we progress through a busy earnings season.

Equities opened mixed on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and S&P 500 (SPX) little changed. The NASDAQ 100 (NDX) was moving higher, as it was getting a good boost from Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX). NFLX reported good earnings and subscriber numbers after the bell on Monday, pushing the stock to a 10% gain. This helped to push all three major indices to new intraday highs.

The NDX had the best gain and closed at a new all-time high. The SPX also closed at a new record high, however, the DJIA could not hold on to its gains into the close. There was a bit of weakness near the close.

At the close, the DJIA gave up 3.7 points, the SPX added 6.1 points, and the NDX gained 0.83%. Breadth was positive, 1.5 to 1, on average volume. ROC(10)’s advanced in the session, for all three major indices. They remain in positive territory. RSI’s were mixed, with the DJIA falling to 84.8, but still the strongest. The SPX finished at 83.9 and the NDX at 83. They remain in near term overbought territory.

All three MACD’s continue above signal. The ARMS index ended at 1.5, a bearish reading at the close. Not much change in the DJIA and SPX in the session, but the star of the day was the NDX. It was lead by the big techs, especially NFLX , which we mentioned earlier. AdvisorShares New Tech and Media (NYSE:FNG) (Advisor Shares ETF), which holds the FAANG stocks and growth Tech and Media, was up nearly 2% in the session.

The NDX closed at a new record high of 6963. Its 20D-SMA line of support now sits at 6652. The DJIA hit a new intraday high of 26246, but closed at 26210, just below its record close. Its 20D-SMA is now at 25389. The SPX had a small gain, but finished in record territory at 2839. It traded as high as 2842, with its upper Bollinger Band® at 2851. Its 20D-SMA is now at 2747. The VIX fell 0.45% to 11.10.

Near term support for the NDX is at 6950 and 6900. Near term resistance is at 6975 and 7000. Near term support for the SPX is at 2825 and 2812. Near term resistance is at 2842 and 2850.

Europe is lower in early trade Wednesday, while U.S. futures are mixed in the premarket. Major economic reports on tap today include FHFA House Price Index at 9:00am, PMI at 9:45am, Existing Home Sales at 10:00am, and the EIA Oil Report at 10:30am.

The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) rose $1.01 (+0.39%) in premarket trading Wednesday. Year-to-date, DIA has gained 5.86%, versus a 6.16% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

DIA currently has an ETF Daily News SMART Grade of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #3 of 79 ETFs in the Large Cap Value ETFs category.