Technical analyst Dave Chojnacki of Street One Financial updates the important technical levels to watch for the major U.S. averages, as stocks struggle to eke out small gains amid rising geopolitical tensions and what promises to be the most destructive hurricane in American history.
After gapping down significantly at the open, equities reversed on Tuesday and made it back into positive territory. Markets were spooked before the open by a new North Korean rocket launch. The rocket flew right over Japan, putting a scare into investors.
After digesting the situation, traders decided it was time to buy, especially in the recently-hit Tech sector. This helped to push the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) to the best gain of 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and S&P 500 (SPX) ended with small gains, but investors found the big reversal comforting.
At the close, the DJIA was up 0.26%, the SPX added 2 point, and the NDX gained 0.4%. Breadth was slightly negative, on below average volume. ROC(10)’s advanced, with all three major indices remaining in negative territory. RSI’s inched up with the DJIA leading at 53.2. The NDX is at 51.1 and the SPX at 47.8. MACD’s remain below signal for all three major indices. The ARMS index ended the day at 1.15, a slightly bearish reading.
It was a rather remarkable turnaround for equities yesterday. It helped when the Consumer Confidence number came in better than expected, but the major indices are still dancing around the 20- and 50-Day moving averages. The DJIA closed at 21865, below its 20D-SMA of 21910, but above its 50D-SMA of 21685. The NDX closed just two points below its 20D-SMA of 5864, but remains above its 50D-SMA of 5822. Critical short term support remains at 5579.
he SPX traded as high as 2449, one point below its 50D-SMA of 2450, but closed at 2446. It also remains below its 20D-SMA of 2454. Its critical short term support is at 2405. It remains below its Trend-line of 2457.
Importantly, iShares Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) (Russell 2000 Small Cap) held above its 200D. Meanwhile, GLD (NYSE:GLD) (SPDR Gold) traded above 125 (overhead resistance), but closed at 124.42. The VIX closed up 3.3% to 11.70, despite the equities reality.
Near term support for the NDX is at 5850 and 5822. Near term resistance is at 5864 and 5875. Near term support for the SPX is at 2437 and 2425. Near term resistance is at 2450 and 2454.
Europe is higher in early trade Wednesday, while U.S. Futures are slightly higher in the premarket. Economic reports on tap today include ADP Employment at 8:15am, GDP at 8:30am, and the EIA Petroleum Report at 10:30am.
The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (SI:SPDR) ETF was unchanged in premarket trading Wednesday. Year-to-date, DIA has gained 11.93%, versus a 10.55% 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 76 ETFs in the Large Cap Value ETFs category.