Short-term uncertainty, as stocks fluctuate along record highs

September 21, 2017 03:18 PM

Briefly:
Intraday trade: Our yesterday's neutral intraday outlook has proved accurate. The S&P 500 index gained 0.1%, as it extended its consolidation along the 2,500 mark. The market may continue to fluctuate today. On the other hand, the support level is relatively close, at last week's Tuesday's daily gap up of 2,488.95-2,490.37. Therefore, we still prefer to be out of the market, avoiding low risk/reward ratio trades.

Our intraday outlook remains neutral, and our short-term outlook is bearish, as we expect the downward correction. Our medium-term outlook remains bearish:

Intraday outlook (next 24 hours): neutral
Short-term outlook (next 1-2 weeks): bearish
Medium-term outlook (next 1-3 months): bearish

The U.S. stock market indexes were mixed between -0.1% and +0.2% on Wednesday, following volatile trading session, as investors reacted to the FOMC Statement release. The S&P 500 index has reached yet another new all-time high at the level of 2,508.85, before retracing some of its recent advance. It continues to trade within a short-term consolidation along the level of 2,500. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has reached new record high at the level of 22,413.26 yesterday. The technology Nasdaq Composite continued to fluctuate below Monday's new all-time high of 6,477.77. The nearest important level of resistance of the S&P 500 index is at around 2,510-2,520. On the other hand, the support level is at 2,490-2,500, marked by last week's Tuesday's daily gap up of 2,488.95-2,490.37, among others. The next support level remains at 2,465-2,475, marked by last Monday's daily gap up of 2,467.11-2,474.52. The level of support is also at 2,460, marked by previous short-term consolidation. The S&P 500 index continues its long-term uptrend, as it reaches new record highs above the level of 2,500. The uptrend continues despite some short-term technical overbought conditions. However, we still can see medium-term negative technical divergences:

Will Uptrend Continue?
Expectations before the opening of today's trading session are slightly negative, with index futures currently down between -0.05% and -0.1% vs. their Wednesday's closing prices. The European stock market indexes have been mixed so far. Investors will now wait for some economic data announcements: Initial Claims, Philadelphia Fed Index at 8:30 a.m., Leading Indicators at 10:00 a.m. The market expects that Initial Claims were at 302,000 last week, and Philadelphia Fed Index was at 17.3 in September. The S&P 500 futures contract trades within an intraday consolidation, as it retraces some of its yesterday's rebound off support level at around 2,490-2,495. It continues to trade close to record high above the level of 2,505. The nearest important level of resistance is at around 2,505-2,510. On the other hand, support level remains at 2,490-2,500, marked by the previous level of resistance. The next support level is at 2,480-2,485, marked by short-term consolidation. The support level is also at 2,465-2,470, among others. The futures contract extends its short-term fluctuations along the level of 2,500, as we can see on the 15-minute chart:

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