FRIDAY'S MARKET WRAP-UP
Market Snapshot for November 7, 2011 (11:28 p.m. ET):
Closing Prices: DOW 12,068.39 (+85.15, +0.71%), S&P 500 1,261.12 (+7.89, +0.63%), NASDAQ 2,695.25 (+9.10, +0.34%), Nikkei 225 8,701.46 (-65.63, -0.75%), DAX 5,928.68 (-37.48, -0.63%), FTSE 5,510.82 (-16.34, -0.3%)
OIL 95.59, GOLD 1,793.60, SILVER 34.81
EURO 1.3745, YEN 78.01, BRITISH POUND 1.604, U.S. DOLLAR INDEX 77.23
Tricky Trading Environment
Volume was on the light side on Monday as the market plodded along without any strong direction. The upper channel resistance on the 30 minute time frame held the market in early in the session as anticipated with highs established for the morning by 10:00 a.m. ET, but the rollover offered little for strong intraday trading strategies. The Nasdaq had the best technical guidance, hitting a third high on the two-minute time frame heading into the reversal, but once the selling began it was marked by a great deal of overlap from one bar to the next on the five-minute time frame with choppy trade throughout most of the session.
The buyers returned in the early afternoon after the market hit support at 12:30 ET, but the pace was slow to begin with before popping into 14:00 ET. The recovery after that point was similar to morning trade with a lot of overlap and no clean continuation patterns. Nevertheless, the market managed to recover the morning's losses and returned to close at the day's highs.
Dow Jones Industrial Average (Figure 1)
Index Wrap-up
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DJI) ended the day on Monday with a gain of 85.15 points, or 0.71%, and closed at 12,068.39. Twenty-four of the Dow's index's thirty components posted a gain. The top performers were Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) (+3.37%), Home Depot (HD) (+2.61%), and Intel (INTC) (+2.27%). The weakest were Alcoa (AA) (-1.65%) and Caterpillar (CAT) (-0.77%).
The S&P 500 ($SPX) finished the session with a gain of 7.89 points, or 0.63%, and closed at 1,261.12. The strongest individual percentage performers in the index were Amgen (AMGN) (+5.91%), Pulte Group (PHM) (+4.74%), Express Scripts (ESRX) (+4.16%), and Nabors Industries (NBR) (+4.01%). The weakest were Quanta Services (PWR) (-4.06%), MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) (-4.05%), and First Solar (FSLR) (-3.73%).
The Nasdaq Composite ($COMPX) ended the session higher by 9.10 points, or 0.34%, on Monday and it closed at 2,695.25. The top index components in the Nasdaq-100 ($NDX) were Warner Chilcott (WCRX) (+6.11%), Amgen (AMGN) (+5.91%), Express Scripts (ESRX) (+4.16%), and Yahoo (YHOO) (+2.95%). The weakest were Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) (-9.31%), First Solar (FSLR) (-3.73%), and Electronic Arts (ERTS) (-2.82%).
S&P 500 (Figure 2)
OUTLOOK
Getting Technical
A shift in momentum overnight with a slower pullback in the index futures into the European open allowed the buyers to mount another push higher into early premarket trade, but, as I mentioned yesterday, the highs from last month will be a tough resistance level to break and the slower pace of the buying compared to Nov. 3's rally will make it even more difficult to push through that resistance level.
Earnings to continue to watch for this week include Green Mountain Coffee Roaster (GMCR) and Dean Foods (DF) on Wednesday; Kohl's (KSS) and Nvidia (NVDA) on Thursday, and DR Horton (DHI) on Friday.
Nasdaq Composite (Figure 3)
Unless otherwise stated, the index action described in this article relates to the E-mini futures contracts for the respective indices. Actual index action may differ slightly in terms of pattern formation, although the market bias will remain the same.
Toni Hansen is president and co-founder of the Bastiat Group Inc., DBA Trading From Main Street. Toni is one of the most respected technical analysts and traders in the industry. She has been trading and educating new traders, money managers, professional market analysts and traders throughout the boom and bust of the last decade. She has worked in conjunction with some of the world's top financial exchanges. Learn more about Toni Hansen and the educational services she provides through her website at http://www.tonihansen.com.
