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Commentary

Daily Brief For April 29, 2021

Daily commentary for U.S. broad market indices.

Market Commentary

Index futures in price discovery mode.

  • Market up on earnings, Fed support.
  • Ahead: Earnings and GDP forecasts.
  • Futures out of balance, off new highs.

What Happened: U.S. stock index futures auctioned higher overnight after President Joe Biden’s joint session of Congress, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s assessment of the economy, and blowout earnings by heavily weighted index constituents. 

Graphic updated at 8:20 AM ET.

What To Expect: Thursday’s regular session (9:30 AM – 4:00 PM EST) will likely open on a gap, outside of prior-range and -value, suggesting the potential for directional opportunity.

Balance-Break + Gap Scenarios: Monitor for acceptance (i.e., more than 1-hour of trade) outside of the balance area. 

Gaps ought to fill quickly. Should they not, that’s a signal of strength; do not fade. Leaving value behind on a gap-fill or failing to fill a gap (i.e., remaining outside of the prior session’s range) is a go-with indicator. 

Auctioning and spending at least 1-hour of trade back in the prior range suggests a lack of conviction; in such a case, do not follow the direction of the most recent initiative activity.

Adding, overnight, Wednesday’s best-case outcome occurred, evidence by initiative trade beyond the S&P 500’s $4,186.75 ledge. Thus far, the index has taken out all major upside references.

Initiative Buying: Buying within or above the previous day’s value area.

Ledges: Flattened area on the profile which suggests responsive participants are in control, or initiative participants lack the confidence to continue the discovery process. The ledge will either hold and force participants to liquidate (cover) their positions, or crack and offer support (resistance).

Initiative Buying: Buying within or above the previous day’s value area.

To note, the Fed strengthened its assessment of the economy and reaffirmed the need for aggressive support. 

Charlie Ripley, Senior Investment Strategist for Allianz Investment Management states: “With no meaningful change to monetary policy or communication, this meeting was simply a message to market participants to sit back and observe as the economic recovery continues to unfold.”

“For now, the Fed is maintaining a tight grip on the bond market, but it appears like a discussion on tapering bond purchases is right around the corner.”

Moving on, for today, participants can trade from the following frameworks. 

In the best case, the S&P 500 trades sideways or higher; activity between the $4,203.25 Fibonacci-derived price extension and $4,186.75 ledge calls for balance or responsive trade. Initiative trade beyond the $4,203.25 price extension could reach as high as $4,228.00 and $4,263.00. 

Responsive Buying (Selling): Buying (selling) in response to prices below (above) area of recent price acceptance.

Balance (Two-Timeframe Or Bracket): Rotational trade that denotes current prices offer favorable entry and exit. Balance-areas make it easy to spot change in the market (i.e., the transition from two-time frame trade, or balance, to one-time frame trade, or trend).

In the worst case, the S&P 500 trades lower; activity below the $4,186.75 ledge targets the $4,181.00 POC. 

POCs: POCs (like HVNodes described above) are valuable as they denote areas where two-sided trade was most prevalent. Participants will respond to future tests of value as they offer favorable entry and exit.

Thereafter, if lower, participants should look for a rotation to the other balance, or $4,110.50. 

Graphic: 65-minute profile chart of the Micro E-mini S&P 500 Futures.
Graphic: Physik Invest maps out the purchase of call and put options in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY), for April 28. Impactful activity in the options market was primarily concentrated on the call side, in short-dated tenors, in strikes as high as $425.00, which corresponds with $4,250.00 in the cash-settled S&P 500 Index (INDEX: SPX).

News And Analysis

Economy | Mortgage application volume falls despite lower rates. (MND)

Recovery | De Blasio says New York City plans full reopen in July. (Axios)

Economy | EU industry calls for a carbon border tax as prices soar. (FT)

Technology | Chip drought hits Apple, BMW, Ford as crisis worsens. (BBG)

M&A | LSEG, and Euronext completed the Borsa Italiana transaction. (TTN)

Economy | German joblessness unexpectedly rises on virus curb. (BBG)

Markets | Getting harder to argue that price increases are temporary. (BBG)

Commodities | Goldman sees commodities rallying on strong demand. (REU)

Economy | Roads across the world busier than at the start of the year. (BBG)

What People Are Saying

Innovation And Emerging Trends

FinTech | State Of Fintech Q1 2021 Report: Investment, Sector Trends. (CBI)

MiamiTech | ‘Miami Tech Week’ wasn’t planned. But the hype is infectious. (Wired)

FinTech | Ethereum jumps to high on a report of EIB digital bond issuance. (REU)

 About

Renato founded Physik Invest after going through years of self-education, strategy development, and trial-and-error. His work reporting in the finance and technology space, interviewing leaders such as John Chambers, founder, and CEO, JC2 Ventures, Kevin O’Leary, Canadian businessman and Shark Tank host, Catherine Wood, CEO and CIO, ARK Invest, among others, afforded him the perspective and know-how very few come by.

Having worked in engineering and majored in economics, Renato is very detailed and analytical. His approach to the markets isn’t built on hope or guessing. Instead, he leverages the unique dynamics of time and volatility to efficiently act on opportunity.

 Disclaimer

At this time, Physik Invest does not manage outside capital and is not licensed. In no way should the materials herein be construed as advice. Derivatives carry a substantial risk of loss. All content is for informational purposes only.

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