No Leaders, No Rally?


Commentary:

Stocks closed mixed on Friday after a seesaw day of trading on heavy trade. The intraday swings in the market were violent. The major indices were down between 2% to 4 % and some were up as much as 1.5% during the session. Small cap and technology issues were hit the hardest as the Nasdaq, small-cap Russell 2000 and the S&P MidCap 400 dropped 0.9%, 1.7% and 1.7% respectively. The S&P 500 closed fractionally lower while the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to swim against the trend and post a 0.5% gain.

Market internals were once again negative despite modest gains on the DJIA. Volume climbed by 14.6 % on the Nasdaq and 27.0% on the Big Board. Declining volume held the upper hand as the spread ratio ended the session at 1.7 to 1 and 3 to 1 in favor of down volume on the NYSE and Nasdaq respectively. Given the negative internals, we would classify Friday as a distribution day on the Nasdaq, Russell 2000 and S&P MidCap 400.

Although we generally refer to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq as broad indicators of the market’s health, we have chosen recently to review the NYSE in this capacity. We have been referencing the NYSE because it formed a very compelling and visually symmetrical head and shoulders pattern and met virtually every criteria we look for in a high probability reversal pattern. As we had anticipated, the NYSE found support on Friday at its 200-period MA on the weekly chart. This helps to explain much of the choppy action in the market yesterday. However, as of this writing, both the S&P and Nasdaq futures are down 2.35%. If this weakness continues into the opening bell, then the NYSE will likely test Friday’s low. If we break Friday’s low, the NYSE could very well fulfill the predicted drop of the head and shoulders pattern tomorrow or Tuesday.

Both the ProShares Ultra Financials ETF (UYG) and the SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Small Cap ETF (EWX) appear to be solid shorting opportunities into the next bounce. Notice that both ETFs are in clear downtrends, have lost key horizontal support levels are trading well below all of their respective moving averages. A move back near $56.00 for UYG and $51.00 for EWX may provide shorting opportunities in these ETFs.


Leadership has been all but been drained from the market. AAPL and PCLN are still standing, but they are the exception. However, both of these leaders are beginning to fall under selling pressure as they have begun to drop with the market. With virtually no leadership left in the market our focus has shifted to identifying short opportunities when the market bounces.


Today’s Watchlist:

There are no new setups for today. As always, we will send an intraday alert if any new trades are made.


Daily Performance Report:

Below is an overview of all open positions, as well as a performance report on all positions that were closed only since the previous day’s newsletter. Net P/L figures are based on the $50,000 Wagner Daily model account size. Changes to open positions since the previous report are listed in red text below. Please review the Wagner Daily Subscriber Guide for important, automatic rules on trigger and stop prices

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    Notes:

  • No trades were made.
  • Reminder to subscribers – Intraday Trade Alerts to your e-mail and/or mobile phone are normally only sent to indicate a CHANGE to the pre-market plan that is detailed in each morning’s Wagner Daily. We sometimes send a courtesy alert just to confirm action that was already detailed in the pre-market newsletter, but this is not always the case. If no alert is received to the contrary, one should always assume we’re honoring all stops and trigger prices listed in each morning’s Wagner Daily. But whenever CHANGES to the pre-market stops or trigger prices are necessary, alerts are sent on an AS-NEEDED basis. Just a reminder of the purpose of Intraday Trade Alerts.
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      Edited by Deron Wagner,
      MTG Founder and
      Head Trader