Market Technician Dave Chojnacki of Street One Financial examines the state of the U.S. markets from a technical perspective as all three major U.S. stock indexes hit fresh highs on a seemingly daily basis.
The major indices opened up strong Tuesday morning after the prior losing session, but quickly reversed to the downside. All three major indices made new intraday highs early in the session before falling back.
After the first hour, equities traded in a narrow range for the remainder of the session, on weak volume, for the second straight session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was the only major average to close at a new record high. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX) and S&P 500 (SPX) eked out small gains at the final bell, but just below their record closing highs.
At the close, the DJIA gained 0.31%, the SPX added 5.9 points, and the NDX inched up 4.9 points. Breadth was decidedly positive, 1.9 to 1, on light volume. ROC(10)’s were mixed in the session, with the DJIA and SPX advancing. The NDX declined in the session. All three major indices remained in positive territory.
RSI’s inched up, with the DJIA the strongest at 80. The NDX finished at 64.9 and the SPX at 74. MACD’s remain above signal for all three major indices. The ARMS index ended at 1.12, a slightly bearish reading.
The DJIA closed at 22830 a new record closing high. During the session it traded as high as 22850, a new intra-day high. It found resistance just near its upper Bollinger Band® of 22866. Its 20D-SMA is at 22458.
The NDX traded at a new intraday high of 6087, but closed a point under its previous closing high of 6064. The NDX also found resistance near its upper Bollinger Band® in the session, which is at 6087. It remains above its 20D-SMA of 5979.
The SPX closed at 2550, just 2 points below its record closing high. It hit a new intraday high of 2555, before selling off. Its upper Bollinger Band sits at 2557. The SPX 20D-SMA is now at 2517.
The VIX fell 2.4% to 10.08.
Near term support for the NDX is at 6050 and 6025. Near term resistance is at 6064, 6075 and 6084. Near term support for the SPX is at 2550 and 2537. Near term resistance is at 2552, 2557 and 2562.
Europe is mixed in early trade Wednesday, and U.S. Futures are slightly lower in the premarket. Major economic reports on tap for today include JOLTS job openings at 10:00am and the FOMC Minutes at 2:00pm.
The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) was unchanged in premarket trading Wednesday. Year-to-date, DIA has gained 17.30%, versus a 14.96% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.