I just noticed that this post marks the 2,000th blog post on the Afraid to Trade blog! I wanted to announce this milestone and take a moment to thank all the readers who continue to motivate me to keep writing, researching, and posting. As any fellow financial blogger will tell you, it’s not easy to…
With Volatility increasing in the stock market, investors/traders are paying more attention to the Volatility Index, or the VIX.
Let’s take a look at the key reference levels, starting with the 2007 market peak to the 2009 market bottom, and the recent April 2010 market peak and draw some interesting comparisons.
As we start a new trading week, we see that the Russell 2000 Index, an index of small-cap stocks, balances on the edge of a chart cliff at the current level similar to the S&P 500’s 1,040 level. Let’s see both the Daily then larger Weekly Timeframe chart and what levels we should be watching….
The recent weakness in the Euro and global economic uncertainty – along with the Dollar’s status as a Reserve Currency – has sent the US Dollar Index surging.
While you may be aware of that, you might not be aware that the recent rally has taken us to upper price levels not seen since the November 2008 and March 2009 lows.
We’re now at a key resistance level that, if broken, will officially turn the long-term trend of the US Dollar Index back to up… which would be a major reversal. Let’s see it.
Let’s take a quick look at the “Great Wall of China” overhead confluence resistance at the 1,110 level in the S&P 500 – which is a key line in the sand between bull and bear. A quick look at the daily chart shows three levels of (almost exact) confluence resistance in the S&P 500: 200…
For the second day in a row, we’ve had an afternoon reversal rally after prior divergences in internals – that’s unusual but it does happen and it can reveal the character of the market. It’s also a lesson in active trade management. Let’s look at the Reversal and the “Popped Stops” Play that followed: To…
The market has pushed into a key resistance level – the 1,100 area – and all three key market internals have deteriorated, which is a non-confirmation and potential bearish signal at the highs. Let’s take a look: Pay close attention to the new intraday – and short-term recovery – high of 1,105 that formed this…
Earlier, I posted on FinViz’s new “Bubble Chart” tool and asked readers to submit other examples of free, useful “heat map” resources. This post links to four of those resources as follows: 1. FinViz’s Heat Map Page This is my favorite tool, because you can visualize the stocks of the market in many ways, including…
That didn’t last long! The S&P 500 has returned, in a sharp end-of-day reversal, to the key 1,100 level that is the short-term upper resistance line that divides bull and bear. Let’s take a quick look: With the exception of the sell-tail of May 25th, the S&P 500 has remained within a 30 point range…
We’re in another intraday situation where the most recent price high was not confirmed either with a new TICK (internal) or momentum oscillator high, so that flashes a quick caution signal (potential consolidation or reversal ahead) for the time being. Let’s see it: The SPY (S&P 500 ETF) just rose to a new intraday high…