Thursday was a dramatic session for the S&P 500. The day started off well enough when a small opening dip bounced back to breakeven. But not long after, the flood gates opened the index tumbled nearly 60 points in an hour.
If you believe the headlines, traders were blindsided by reports Biden plans on doubling the capital gains tax. Right or wrong, that was enough to trigger a cascade of reflexive selling. But as ugly as things looked midday, the weekly lows near 4,120 provided rock-solid support.
Will 4,120 support continue holding today? While there are no guarantees, there is a good chance this knee-jerk selling already came and went.
If anyone is surprised a Democratic president is going to raise taxes on the rich, I have a bridge to sell them. This is old news and anyone that feared president Biden’s tax agenda sold way back in November. Investors still holding stocks under a Democrat-controlled Washington D.C. are clearly not worried about these things.
While yesterday’s reflexive selling put on a good show, don’t expect it to add up to much because higher taxes is old news. This bull market got to these levels because of the unprecedented money printing. As long as nothing threatens the flow of stimulus, then the rally is still on.
That said, never underestimate a spooked herd of selling fools. If prices undercut 4,120 today, step out of the way and let the knee-jerk continue. But someone else’s loss can turn into our gain if we are willing to step in a few hours later and buy the bounce. And that’s only if we get lucky enough for the panic selling to continue Friday morning. Most likely, the worst has already passed.
Hold above 4,120. Sell if prices retreat under 4,120 and be ready to buy the bounce even if it is only hours later.
It’s been a rough few days for Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency is down more than 20% from last week’s record highs. While the initial $60k breakout was buyable, this subsequent fizzle was a clear signal to get out. As I wrote earlier:
While it seems obvious now, everyone had the opportunity to sell when this fell back to $60k. While fortune favors the bold, that doesn’t include holding speculative investments all the way down. Remember, it is far easier to buy back in following a false alarm than it is to plead a stubborn trade higher. (Selling at a higher level is always better than wishing you sold at a higher level.)
As for what comes next, Bitcoin is in no man’s land between $40k support and $60k resistance. A bounce back above $60k is buyable as is a bounce off of $40k support. But in between these two trading signals, this is a wait-and-see.