This newsletter provides free market direction trading insights that are derived from our seasoned and unique, inter-market analysis. We hope that this information will provide both the novice and seasoned trader with valuable assistance. Our approach is to harvest clues clues from the Market's “tea leaves” as to what the market is doing or is likely to do.
January 29, 2013
Good
Morning Traders,
As
of this writing 4:20 AM EST, here’s what we see:
US Dollar –Down at 79.810 The US Dollar is down 58 ticks and is trading at 79.810.
Energies – March Oil is up at 96.75.
Financials – The 30 year bond is up 3 ticks and is trading at
143.24.
Indices – The March S&P 500 emini ES contract is down at 1496.25 and is down 3 ticks.
Indices – The March S&P 500 emini ES contract is down at 1496.25 and is down 3 ticks.
Gold – The February
gold contract is trading up at 1661.2 and is up 83 ticks.
Conclusion
This
is not a correlated market. The dollar is down- and oil is up+
which is normal but the 30 year bond is trading fractionally up which does not correlate with
the US dollar trading down. The Financials should always correlate with
the US dollar such that if the dollar is lower then bonds should follow
and vice versa. The indices are down fractionally with the US dollar trading lower. Gold is trading up which correlates with the US
dollar trading lower. I tend to believe that Gold has an inverse
relationship with the US Dollar as when the US Dollar is down, Gold
tends to rise in value and vice-versa. Think of it as a seesaw, when one
is up the other should be down. I point this out to you to make you
aware that when we don't have a correlated market, it means something is
wrong. As traders you need to be aware of this and proceed with your
eyes wide open.
The Aussie, Nikkei and Shanghai indices closed higher with the rest of Asia closing lower. As of this writing the London exchange is higher, the German Dax is flat and the rest of Europe is trading lower.
Possible challenges to traders today is the following:
- S&P Case Schiller HPI Index is out at 9 AM EST. This is major.
- CB Consumer Confidence is out at 10 AM EST. This is major.
Yesterday we said that our bias was toward the short side with the net result being that the Dow closed 14 points lower. It only goes to show you that anything can happen in a volatile market. Today market correlation is calling for a lower open but our bias is toward the long side. Here's why. The indices and bonds are the culprits. If the indices were trading higher and bonds were trading lower, I would say we have a market that is correlated to the long side. However they are both trading fractionally lower or higher. This would suggest that they can change direction at any moment. Additionally the USD is lower. I would never underestimate the power of the USD to move markets. Remember anything can happen in a volatile market.
Yesterday we had Pending Home Sales that did not exactly excite the market to the long side. In fact just before the report came out the market dropped lower but did not regain its high for the day. Today we have the Home Price Index and Consumer Confidence both of which have the ability to move markets. Now some pundits are claiming doom and gloom going forward. I happen to take a different view. There is no doubt that markets will rise and fall, that what goes up will eventually come down. But this year we are faced with a unique situation. The tax liability of high net worth individuals will go up this year and they will be taxed at the Clinton Era rate of 39.6 percent. Now if you're a high net worth individual and you're accustomed to a certain style of living and you know that your taxes will go up, what will you do? In all likelihood you'll increase your investments in order to augment the tax increase. And yes, you'll pay more in taxes but your mode of living won't take a hit. Does anyone wonder why during the Clinton years the market was so robust? Enough said.
On the political front it appears as though its "all quiet on the western front" as nothing new has occurred. Our understanding is that the GOP has gone to a retreat in North Carolina this weekend to discuss what their stance will be going forward. It would seem to me that moderate Republicans (aka the adults in the room) have realized that this Tea Party thing isn't working out too well. The American people clearly don't want a government that is held hostage. Last week the GOP dominated House of Representatives passed a measure to extend the debt ceiling for 90 days. It now has to go to the Democratic controlled Senate and the President for approval. Between them I don't think it has a chance for passage but the Smart Money is loving it. They just got a 3 month reprieve from this issue but don't worry, once they realize the measure won't pass that will change. If you're wondering what this has to do with markets; I would say to you everything. Look at what happened during the recent fiscal cliff crisis. If you're wondering why we haven't had correlated markets since the election, look no further. The markets do not like uncertainty when it comes to fiscal issues and anything that reeks of uncertainty is not viewed in a positive light. Will the markets survive? of course. But I suspect that the GOP wants to extend for the very purpose of keeping uncertainty and therefore fear alive. They know the markets are fickle and the longer the issue remains alive the more uncertainty will be created.
As readers are probably aware I don't trade equities. While we're on this discussion, let's define what is meant by a good earnings report. A company must exceed their prior quarter's earnings per share and must provide excellent forward guidance. Any falloff between earning per share or forward guidance will not bode well for the company's shares. Look at what happened to Apple. This is one of the reasons I don't trade equities but prefer futures. There is no earnings reports with futures and we don't have to be concerned about lawsuits, scandals, malfeasance, etc.
Anytime the market isn't correlated it's giving you a clue that something isn't right and you should proceed with caution.. Today market correlation is calling for a lower open however our bias is towards the long side. Could this change? Of course. We could have a Home Price Index number that could in fact drive the markets higher or lower. In a volatile market anything can happen. We'll have to monitor and see. For awhile now we've promised a video on how a trader can use Market Correlation in tandem with their daily trading. A good friend of Market Tea Leaves: Carl Weiss of Sceeto and I produced a video on December 22nd that shows this. Here it is:
http://youtu.be/Ysx-nOgAtkI
Please note the video is about a half hour in length and we plan on producing more in the near future. Also note that in the near future we will have other videos where we will interview various trading leaders.
As I write this the crude markets are trading higher and the US Dollar is declining. This is normal. Think of it this way. If the stock market is trading lower, it's safe to assume that the crude market will follow suit and vice versa. Crude trades with the expectation that business activity is expanding. The barometer of which is the equities or stock market. If you view both the crude and index futures side by side you will notice this. Yesterday crude almost hit the 97.00 a barrel mark. So it would seem that at the present time crude's support is at 92.00 with resistance at 97.00 a barrel. This could change. All we need do is look at what happened last fall when crude was trading over $100.00 a barrel. We'll have to monitor and see. Remember that crude is the only commodity that is reflected immediately at the gas pump.
Future Challenges:
- Sequester spending cuts to commence around early March
- Debt Ceiling also around the early March time frame.
Crude
oil is trading higher and the US Dollar is declining. This is normal. Crude typically makes 3 major moves (long or short) during the
course of any trading day: around 7 AM EST, 9 AM EST and 2 PM EST when
the crude market closes. If crude makes major moves around those time
frames, then this would suggest normal trending, if not it would suggest
that something is not quite right. If you feel compelled to trade,
consider doing so after 10 AM EST when the economic news is released and
the markets give us better direction. As always watch and monitor your
order flow as anything can happen in this market. This is why
monitoring order flow in today's market is crucial. We as traders are
faced with numerous challenges that we didn't have a few short years
ago. High Frequency Trading is one of them. I'm not an advocate of
scalping however in a market as volatile as this
scalping is an alternative to trend trading.
Remember that without knowledge of order flow
we as traders are risking our hard earned capital and the Smart Money will have
no issue taking it from us. Regardless of whatever platform you use for trading purposes you need to make sure it's monitoring order flow. Sceeto does an excellent job at this. To fully capitalize on
this newsletter it is important that the reader understand how the various market
correlate. More on this in subsequent
blogs.
To View previous articles of Market Tea Leaves:
www.benzinga.com/author/market-tea-leaves
To Subscribe Click Here:
http://eepurl.com/uoQzH
To View previous articles of Market Tea Leaves:
www.benzinga.com/author/market-tea-leaves
To Subscribe Click Here:
http://eepurl.com/uoQzH
