Stocks meandered in quiet trading on Monday. The Dow Industrials SPDR (DIA) lost a fraction, while the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) gained a fraction. SPY and IWM remain in short-term uptrends. QQQ is showing the most vulnerability with a support break last week. This support break is holding as Apple earnings loom on the horizon. Yes, it is going to be all about Apple for QQQ. The sectors were mixed with the Finance SPDR (XLF) and the Healthcare SPDR (XLV) leading the gainers. The Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY) and the Energy SPDR (XLE) edged lower. Housing stocks were hit with a surprise decline in existing home sales. The Home Construction iShares (ITB) weighed on the consumer discretionary with a 1.2% decline. Industry group ETFs within the materials sectors had big days with the Gold Miners ETF (GDX) and Silver Miners ETF (SIL) gaining over 3%. The Metals & Mining SPDR (XME) and the Copper Miners ETF (COPX) advanced over 1%. Despite these strong gains, the bigger trends remain down for these materials-related industry groups. It is a HUGE week for earnings with over 800 companies reporting. Apple, Lockheed Martin and UPS are on deck for Tuesday. Caterpillar, EMC, Facebook and Qualcom report on Wednesday. 3M, Amazon and Starbucks feature on Thursday. KKR, Tyco and Choice Hotels finish it off on Friday.
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Key Reports and Events (all times Eastern):
Mon - Jul 22 - 10:00 - Existing Home Sales
Tue - Jul 23 - 09:00 - FHFA Housing Price Index
Wed - Jul 24 - 07:00 - MBA Mortgage Index
Wed - Jul 24 - 10:00 - New Home Sales
Wed - Jul 24 - 10:30 - Crude Inventories
Thu - Jul 25 - 08:30 - Continuing Claims
Thu - Jul 25 - 08:30 - Durable Orders
Thu - Jul 25 - 10:30 - Natural Gas Inventories
Fri - Jul 26 - 09:55 - Michigan Sentiment - Final
Charts of Interest: Tuesday and Thursday
This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is
not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise).
We all need to think for ourselves when it comes to trading our own accounts. First, it is
the only way to really learn. Second, we are the only ones responsible for our decisions.
Think of these charts as food for further analysis. Before making a trade, it is important
to have a plan. Plan the trade and trade the plan. Among other things, this includes setting
a trigger level, a target area and a stop-loss level. It is also important to plan for three
possible price movements: advance, decline or sideways. Have a plan for all three scenarios
BEFORE making the trade. Consider possible holding times. And finally, look at overall market
conditions and sector/industry performance.
About the author:
Arthur Hill, CMT, is the Chief Technical Strategist at TrendInvestorPro.com. Focusing predominantly on US equities and ETFs, his systematic approach of identifying trend, finding signals within the trend, and setting key price levels has made him an esteemed market technician. Arthur has written articles for numerous financial publications including Barrons and Stocks & Commodities Magazine. In addition to his Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designation, he holds an MBA from the Cass Business School at City University in London.
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