Pre-holiday stock market volume low, but short-term trend positive

Stock index, chart, technical analysis

Market Overview – What We Know:

• Small losses in truncated and very light pre-holiday trading were recorded Monday in major indexes.
• Market volume shrank by just over 78%
• Minor Cycle remains positive until S&P 500 declines below lower edge of 10-Day Price Channel (1421.86 through Wednesday).
• S&P 500 continues to flirt with upper edge of 10-Week Price Channel (1430.56 through December 28).
• Daily MAAD continued to pull back from new short-term high made last Thursday with 7 issues positive and 11 negative. Two were unchanged. Daily MAAD Ratio was last in moderately “Overbought” territory at 1.28.
• Daily CPFL was positive Monday by 2.65 to 1 on sharply lower options volume. Daily CPFL Ratio “Overbought” at 2.19.

Market Overview – What We Think:

• While short-term rally begun back on November 16 remains positive, it has also become increasingly vulnerable.
• If it turns out December 18 S&P high (1448.00) was the peak of rally, what is also significant is that S&P, Dow 30, and NASDAQ Composite failed to better September highs (1474.51—S&P 500), despite new all-time high in Value Line index. History will tell which index was more prescient in terms of suggesting resumption, or not, of long-term bull that began in March 2009.
• Even if S&P had bettered September highs, index would be nowhere near overcoming October 2007 peak at 1576.09.
• And while Daily MAAD made new short-term high last Thursday, indicator must continue upward and must surpass March 20 resistance peak to suggest resumption of long-term bull.

Note: Stop levels, a function of the extant trend, are based on the trailing moving average price channels for the Highs or the Lows of an index. Whether or not a specific index is suggesting a “Buy” or Sell” is determined by whether or not index prices are above or below the current channel Stop levels. Stop levels should only be used as an entry or exit guide and in conjunction with other market entry and exit strategies.

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