Technical analyst Dave Chojnacki of Street One Financial examines the state of the U.S. markets from a technical perspective as all three major U.S. stock indexes hit fresh highs on a seemingly daily basis.
With little to move the Market on Wednesday morning, equities opened lower. It didn’t take long for the averages to turn around, as Big tech names were getting a bid. The major indices made a slow move to the upside through the remainder of the day as they finished with new record closing highs.
As noted, the Big techs (FANG) stocks pushed the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) to a closing high, but it did not make a new intraday high. The S&P 500 (SPX) actually tied its previous intraday high, and only the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) made both a new closing and intraday high in the session.
At the close, the DJIA added 42.2 points, the SPX inched up 4.6 points, and the NDX moved up 17.7 points. Breadth was positive, 1.4 to 1, on below average volume. ROC(10)’s declined in the session, indicating a waning of momentum. All three major indices remained in positive territory.
RSI’s inched up, with the DJIA the strongest at 81.1. The NDX finished at 66.9 and the SPX at 75.4. MACD’s remain above signal for all three major indices. The ARMS index ended at 1.32, a slightly bearish reading.
The DJIA closed at 22872 a new record high, and new intra-day high. It stayed below its upper Bollinger Band® of 22915, and showed a little slowing of momentum. Its 20D-SMA is now at 20D-SMA of 22493.
The NDX closed at a new record of 6081. It traded as high as 6082 in the session, just 2 points below its all-time high of 6084. Its upper Bollinger Band is now at 6100. It remains above its 20D-SMA of 5983.
The SPX closed at 2555, a new record. It closed at its high of the day and tied its previous intra-day high of 2555. Its upper Bollinger Band sits at 2562. The SPX 20D-SMA is now at 2520.
IWM (iShares Russell 2000) fell in the session, down 0.11 of a point to 149.75. The VIX also fell 2.2% to 9.85.
Near term support for the NDX is at 6075 and 6050. Near term resistance is at 6100 and 6125. Near term support for the SPX is at 2550 and 2537. Near term resistance is at 2562 and 2575.
Europe is mixed in early trade Thursday, while U.S. Futures are slightly lower in the premarket. Major economic reports on tap for today include PPI at 8:30am, EIA Natural Gas at 10:30am, and EIA Petrol Report at 1:00pm.
The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (SI:SPDR) was unchanged in premarket trading Thursday. Year-to-date, DIA has gained 17.48%, versus a 15.14% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.
DIA currently has an ETF Daily News SMART Grade of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #4 of 75 ETFs in the Large Cap Value ETFs category.