Market Commentary
Equity index futures explore lower prices, widening a developing balance area.
- Traders edgy over virus variant, Fed action.
- Ahead is data on jobs and consumer credit.
- Internal divergence resolved in lower prices.
What Happened: U.S. stock index futures liquidated as participants sought to price in anxieties surrounding the spread of COVID-19 variants as well as an evolution in monetary policy.
“Worries about variant strains have hurt investor confidence that the pandemic’s effects on the global economy are truly past us,” Nicholas Colas and Jessica Rabe of DataTrek Research wrote in a note cited by Bloomberg. “Our working theory is that we’re in the middle of a modest global growth scare.”
Today, also, participants get data on initial and continued jobless claims, as well as consumer credit.
What To Expect: Thursday’s regular session (9:30 AM – 4:00 PM EST) in the S&P 500 will likely open outside of prior-range and -value, suggesting a potential for immediate directional opportunity. Balance-break and gap scenarios are in play.
Balance-Break and/or 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.
Further, the overnight liquidation comes after participants had a tough time establishing value at higher prices. Despite steady exploration in days prior, internal divergences via breadth metrics, became more pronounced, while profile dynamics revealed weak commitment at higher prices and an abundance of poor structures (e.g., low-volume areas).
Also, yesterday, Federal Reserve officials, as evidenced by meeting minutes, were not yet ready to communicate their timeline for scaling back asset purchases.
“The committee’s standard of ‘substantial further progress’ was generally seen as not having yet been met, though participants expected progress to continue,” according to minutes from the June 15-16 Federal Open Market Committee meeting published Wednesday. “Various participants mentioned that they expected the conditions for beginning to reduce the pace of asset purchases to be met somewhat earlier than they had anticipated at previous meetings.”
Following closely after, rates on the 10 Year T-Note moved into trend support. Though usually perceived as a boon for stocks – especially growth names – as low rates have to potential to increase the present value of future earnings, all major equity indexes are off their highs.
Regardless of the cause – comments by the Fed, in addition to the spread of COVID-19 variants, geopolitical tensions, among other things – for today, participants can trade from the following frameworks.
In the best case, the S&P 500 trades sideways or higher; activity above the $4,285.00 micro-composite high volume area (HVNode), a pivot, participants may look for responses at the $4,299.00 Point of Control (POC), first. Thereafter, if higher, the $4,317.00 POC, which corresponds with the half-point of the overnight range comes next. If above $4,317.00, lookout. The S&P 500 may auction as high as the $4,340.75 HVNode.
Volume Areas: A structurally sound market will build on past areas of high volume. Should the market trend for long periods of time, it will lack sound structure (identified as a low volume area which denotes directional conviction and ought to offer support on any test). If participants were to auction and find acceptance into areas of prior low volume, then future discovery ought to be volatile and quick as participants look to areas of high volume for favorable entry or exit. POCs: POCs 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.
In the worst case, the S&P 500 trades lower; activity below $4,285.00 puts in play the $4,263.25 low volume area (LVNode). Trade beyond that signpost may reach as low as the $4,247.75 LVNode and $4,229.00 VPOC.
News And Analysis
Economy | ECB unveils higher inflation goal that tolerates an overshoot. (BBG)
Politics | President Biden to speak on Afghanistan amid swift U.S. pullout. (REU)
Economy | Fed officials are split on easing quantitative easing program. (Axios)
Economy | Rates are down, jobs are up, but mortgage apps still decline. (MND)
Economy | External liquidity strains easing in some APAC economies. (Fitch)
Energy | OPEC gets ‘pass to lift oil prices’ as hedging losses hobble U.S. (FT)
COVID | Europe’s summer in peril as France warns on Spain, Portugal. (BBG)
Economy | Quest to define post-crisis global economic order is gaining. (BBG)
COVID | Tokyo games to go without fans as Japan declares emergency. (BBG)
What People Are Saying
Innovation And Emerging Trends
Markets | Crypto scammers rip off billions on pump-and-dump schemes. (BBG)
FinTech | Powell diary shows he met Coinbase CEO, crypto investor. (BBG)
Markets | A $9 trillion binge turns central banks into the biggest whales. (BBG)
FinTech | Momentum behind blockchain in public, private markets rises. (MM)
Markets | The LSE had its first direct listing of a technology company. (MM)
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, 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.