These 3 Stocks Control The Entire U.S. Market

If you ever wonder what type of day it is going to be in the stock market you can simply follow three stocks. When these three stocks together trade higher on the session,  the markets are likely going to finish positive. The opposite is true as well: when these three stocks trade lower on the session, the major stock indexes will usually finish in negative territory.

When these stocks are mixed, the markets are usually going to finish slightly higher or lower. The three most important stocks in the market are J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM), and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL).

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) is the most important financial stock in the United States and possibly the most important financial stock in the world at this time. This stock is still the leading financial stock despite its highly publicized recent trading loss. When JPM stock moves, the markets listen. Friday, JPM stock was trading higher by 0.08 cents to $34.39 a share.

Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) is the largest energy company in the world. It has the second largest market capitalization in the entire stock universe at $377 billion. This stock is a major component of the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Friday, XOM stock was trading higher by 0.56 cents to $81.19 a share. Short term traders should watch for intra-day resistance around the $81.37, and $81.75 levels.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is the leading technology stock in the world. This company's growth has been responsible for putting companies such as Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), and Nokia (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) into possible bankruptcy. AAPL stock also moves the markets when it trades higher or lower as it is a huge part of the NASDAQ 100 and the S&P 500 Index. Every trader and investor must follow the action in AAPL stock as it is the largest stock by market capitalization in the world. Friday, AAPL stock was trading lower by $1.41 to $570.75 a share. Short term traders can watch for intra-day support around the $569.40, and $564.00 levels.