SPX, Gold & Oil on the VERGE of Something BIG

Market volatility continues to shake things up making it profitable for traders who are quick to spotting key reversal points, manage risk and taking profits before it evaporates. On Tuesday we saw the market go up and down more than I have seen in a long time… It moved over 5% as it trended up then down in 1% increments as shown in the chart below. Members of FuturesTradingSignals were able to capture a 1-2% gain which may not sound like much but when trading the leveraged ETFs, Futures or CFD’s we are making 4-200% profit within a few hours. That being said this type of price action is proof that the market just does not know which way to go and why trades must be very quick to enter and exit positions.

The SP500 daily etf chart shows my simple volume analysis during market corrections. During the early stages of a trend, pullbacks are quick and simple. But as a trend matures we start to see corrections become much more complex. We first saw the simple 1 wave corrections in 2009, then we saw a much deeper 3 wave correction which was enough to shake most retail (average Joe’s) out of the market before heading higher, and now it looks as though we are headed into a complex 5 wave correction which should be enough to shake out the majority again.

It’s important to note that the longer a trend lasts the larger the corrections/shake outs must be in order to get everyone out. From what I am reading and seeing everywhere online are doom and gloom scenarios. In my opinion this is good. One more leg down should be enough to shake everyone before we see a nice 10-20% rally. Once we see that bounce/rally then we can reanalyze the market to see if we are headed back up to test the 2010 highs or if its just a bear market rally. In the end it does not matter as we play both the long and short side of the market.

Gold ETF continues to unfold as planned. We caught a good chunk of the recent rally and are now in cash waiting for another low risk entry point in the coming days or weeks.

Crude oil Fund (USO) has been struggling to stay up the past 2 months. As you can see the chart below it’s trading at a key resistance level and at this point it could go either way… I don’t like to get involved in trades when they look to be a 50/50 probability of going each direction. If anything I would think oil will head back down as the US dollar continues its strong rally.

Mid-Week ETF Trading Conclusion
In short, the broad market is in a down trend and selling volume continues to rise. Investors around the world continue to accumulate gold and the US dollar as they seem to be the safe havens for the time being. Oil is also in a down trend and trading at resistance which means we should see lower prices for oil and oil companies and this will weigh heavily on the equities market.

Cash is king and during times of uncertainty that’s for sure… It is very comforting to know we are in cash most of the time and only get involved with the market when there is a low risk, high probability setup on the charts.

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How to Trade Market Bottoms for SP500 & Gold

The stock market topped in April which was expected from analyzing stocks and the indexes. Back in April I posted a few reports explaining how to read the charts to spot market tops. Today’s report is about identifying market bottoms. It does not get much more exciting than what we have seen in the past 2 months with the market topping in April and the May 6th mini market crash. This Thursday we saw panic selling which pushed the market below the May 6th low washing the market of weak positions.

For those of you who have been following me closely this year I am sure you have noticed trading has been a little slower than normal. This is due to the fact that the market corrected at the beginning of the year and we went long Feb 5th and again on Feb 25th. Since then the market rallied for 2 months and never provided another low risk entry point. In April the market became choppy and toppy and we eventually took a short position to ride the market down. Now were we are looking at another possible reversal to the upside.

Only a few trades this year which I know frustrates some individuals but if you step back and look at my trading strategy you will learn that we only need to trade a few trades a year to make some solid returns. I don’t know about you but I would rather trade a few times a month and live life between trades… not trade all day every day getting bug eyed in front of the computer.

Ok enough of the boring stuff let’s get into the charts....

SP500 – Stock Market Index Trading ETFs & Futures
The pullback in the broad market was expected but the mini crash on May 6th really through a wrench into things for us technical analysts. We don’t really know the truth about what happened that day… was it just a simple error or was it a planned error for the US government to take a massive short position to move something in their favor quickly to generate MASSIVE gains? It leaves us technicians hanging wondering if that was a shift in trend from up (accumulation) to down (distribution)?

My thoughts are if the crash was truly an error then we will see months if not another year of higher prices… But if it was a planned sell off with banks moving to the sidelines then we are most likely headed into another bear market. Personally it does not matter what happens as big money will be made in either direction. Problem is if we do go into another bear market then the majority of individuals will lose capital as investor’s portfolios get smaller and smaller. That will lead to a lot of depressed people…

In short, I am neutral on the stock market for the intermediate and long term. Once we have a few more months of price action only then will I have a plan for longer term investments. But on the short term time frame the market is screaming at me with extreme sentiment levels lining up on the stock market and gold.

The daily chart of the SPY – SP500 Index shows several important points which help me time market bottoms. We have prices trading at a support zone. Buyers step back into the game here and should provide a decent bounce which started Friday Morning.

Next we have the panic selling spikes from an indicator I created. Generally the day after we see panic in the market like we did on Thursday we will see a big bounce and many times a large rally.

Down at the bottom you can see my custom market cycles which are both starting to bottom. During times like this the market has a natural tendency to move higher.

VIX – Market Volatility Daily Chart
The VIX has an old saying “When the VIX is high its time to buy, When the VIX is low, its time to go”. Simple analysis clearly shows the VIX trading high and at a resistance zone.

Put/Call Ratio – Daily Trading Chart
This chart measures the amount of put and call options traded each day. When it is trading over 1.00 then we know for every 1 call option traded (wanting the market to go up) there is 1 put option traded (wanting the market to go down). Over 1.00 is extreme and when that many people are bearish and using leverage to profit from a drop in price then in my opinion it means everyone has already sold and the selling pressure is about to end.

Actually if you go back in time and review SP500 and this ratio you will notice 2-3 days after this ratio reaches 1.00 or higher the market bounces/bottoms.

NYSE Advance/Decline Line for Equities – Daily Chart
This chart shows us how many stocks are advancing or declining on any given day. When extremes are reached look for a short term bounce or bottom 1-3 days following.

How to Identify Stock Market Bottoms with Simple Analysis:
In short, I feel the market is forming a bottom here. How big of a rally will we get? I don’t know because of the mixed signals from the May 6th EXTREME heavy volume selling session. As usual I focus on trading with the trend, trading the low risk setups and I manage my money/positions scaling in and out of those positions as I see fit.

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Technical View of What’s Next for Precious Metals, Stocks & the Dollar

From guest analyst Chris Vermeulen.....

Last weeks price action unfolded just as we expected. Money poured into stocks with the focus being on small cap, banks and technology stocks. The fact that these sectors are showing strength while utilities, health care and consumer staples lag is a good sign that investors are once again taking risks in the market.

Because investors and traders are bullish on the stock market again the money flow into the safe havens like Gold and Silver decrease. I believe this is the reason stocks moved up last week while precious metals drifted lower.

Below are three charts (Dollar, Gold and Silver) showing what I think is most likely to happen in the coming week or two.

US Dollar Index – Daily Chart
The US Dollar has put in a very nice bounce/rally since the low in November 2009. Last month the dollar finally reached a key resistance level of 81. I have been talking about this major resistance level since January as the Dollar would find it difficult to break above this level.

Take a look at the daily chart below. You can see a head & shoulders pattern and a neckline which appears to have broken late Friday afternoon. There is a strong chance we could see 78 reached which is the measured move down. If we get follow through selling this week then I would expect 78 to be touched within 5-10 days.

GLD & SLV ETF Trading Charts
Precious metals have been moving very well for us recently. From looking at the charts using technical analysis we were able to catch the Feb. 5th low and also the Feb. 25th low on a several ETF’s.

As you can see from the GLD and SLV charts, both metals are not in an uptrend showing bullish chart patterns and trading at support. If we see the US Dollar break down next week then be ready to go long gold, silver and stocks.



Precious Metals, Stocks and the Dollar Trading Conclusion:
As a technical analyst the above charts are pointing to higher prices in the coming day’s which is exciting for us all. BUT when things are this perfect looking we must be very cautious as the market has way to suck people into setups like this and spit them out a couple days later for a nasty loss.

Understanding how the market moves is crucial for avoiding and/or minimizing losses when trades go against us. That is why I continue to wait for my signature low risk setup before putting any money to work.

My focus is to take the least amount of trades possible each year, only focusing on the best of the best setups. My low risk setups require downside risk to be under 3% for the investment of choice when the broad market shows signs of strength, as well. I use several different types of analysis to confirm if a setup has a high probability of winning and those which do are the trades I take along with my subscribers.

It is very important to wait for the market to confirm a move higher before taking a position with this type of setup. The market could go either way quickly and jumping the gun is not a safe bet.

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Gold, Silver & Stock Indices on the Verge of Rolling Over?

From guest analyst Chris Vermeulen....

This week has been playing out as we expected. Last week we saw the market rally on light volume into a resistance zone on the daily chart. Light volume rallies are always a warning sign, much like the “Calm before a Storm”.

The way I look at bearish price action....

The First Heavy Selling Volume Day – I see this as large institution selling massive amounts of investments (stocks & commodities) because prices have risen enough for them to book profits OR they know something we don’t and they are getting out before the majority of traders find out.

Light Volume Rally/Drift Higher – After a heavy volume sell off we tend to see prices drift higher on light volume. This is when the institutions stop dumping investments and allow the retail investors (Un-educated Traders) to buy the market back up.

Bear Market Trend – In a down trend we see these two phases enter and exit the market. These patterns happen on every time frame from tick charts to yearly charts. Trends vary in length from 1-2 cycles and sometimes 10-20 cycles and more…

Current Market Conditions

So far this week we have seen the market sell down on increasing volume which is bearish and is pointing to lower prices. On Wednesday we saw prices move up on light volume with volatility rising into the close with a short wave of selling. This was indicating to me that sellers were starting to enter the market again.

The daily chart below clearly shows the heavy selling and drift higher on declining volume. The market is now trading deep into a resistance zone and looking ready to drop.



SP500 Intraday 2 Hour Candle Charts

You can see the same selling patterns repeat themselves. Since the Feb 5th bottom we have been forming a much larger bear flag which makes me think a BIG drop is only days away.



SP500 Trend Trading Conclusion:

Both stocks and precious metals are trading with the same chart patterns and volume levels. So if you are wondering about gold, silver and oil, I am seeing a similar scenario playing out for them also.

The reason I keep bringing these bearish patterns up in my reports is because once you master trading in a down market then you can make money during some of the fasted moving times in the market. I have always preferred shorting the market because prices drop much quicker then they rise. So profits are made quickly.

Also, if the broad market does eventually roll over later this year, and I am not saying it is, but “IF” it does, then you will feel somewhat comfortable with the positions we will be taking.

If you would like to receive these Free Bi-Weekly Trading Reports please visit Chris Vermeulen's The Gold And Oil Guy.

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Gold & SP500 Psychology: They Bail, We Buy

From guest blogger Chris Vermeulen....

Understanding market psychology is crucial for a trader’s success. But so many people get caught up in the daily market volatility, media coverage and “noise” of the trading environment, it’s almost impossible to not think and trade in agreement with the majority of traders.

However, effective technical analysis allows us to use trends, patterns and other indicators to evaluate the market’s current psychological state. Fortunately, this analysis can both enable us to independently forecast whether the market is heading in an upward or downward trend and do so against the grain of the majority.

It takes a disciplined trader to be able to watch and listen to the market doing one thing, filter out the noise, then do the opposite – all in a controlled manor. To this day I still find myself fighting the herd mentality at times and that is when I step away from the computer and regroup.

I have a simple rule that has saved me thousands over the years. I would rather miss a trade and learn what caused me to get confused, then to take a loss.

Rule # 1 – When in Doubt, Stay Out!

There are two types of traders:

1. Herd Mentality Trader – Someone who trades off fear and greed buying near tops and panic selling out at the bottom with the masses.
2. Black Sheep Trader – A trader who stand out from the masses and trades opposite to the “herd” during extreme levels.

Last weeks market action really allowed us to see which way the masses were moving. The extremely high selling volume and sharp price decline notified us that the market was trading off FEAR. And, last Thursday we actually saw PANIC which tells us the balance of the market (retail investors, John Doe’s, The “Herd”) were exiting their positions.

When we see this happen, it’s generally a good time to start scaling into long positions, as most of the down side has already happened.

I have been talking about an ABC retrace pattern for the indexes and gold for some time and last week we got just that. An ABC retrace is when we have 3 waves which are, down, small up, then another leg down.
In short this wave breaks the uptrend of higher highs and lows, as it forms a lower low telling novice traders to sell and go short. This is what causes the high volume and sharp sell offs.

Below are a few charts showing the 2009 July lows and where we are now, February 2010:

SP500 – Daily Trading Chart


Gold – Daily Trading Chart


Silver – Daily Trading Chart


Oil – Daily Trading Chart


Intraday Price Action – Just click here if you want to see some of my exciting intraday trading charts check out the setups last week.

Market Psychology Trading Conclusion:
Most get involved with the stock market because it looks like something they can quickly learn and start making money from home. But it doesn’t take long before they quickly realize there is more to trading than meets the eye.

While trading looks easy from a glance, in actuality I think its one of the toughest jobs out there.

Why? Well, this is what you are up against:
1. You are trying to predict something that is unpredictable
2. You are trading against millions of other highly skilled traders
3. You are trading against automated computers with complex algorithms
4. You are trading with your hard earned money which causes fear and greed
5. You must accept losing trades as that is part of the business
6. You must trade with a proven trading strategy and follow the system
7. You must understand money management and apply it to every trade
8. You must truly love the market cause it will break you down mentally

I don’t want to say you must be a contrarian, but in reality you must do the opposite of the masses during times of extreme price behavior.

These extremes happen on a daily basis when trading intraday charts and every 4-6 weeks when looking at daily charts. The toughest part is to pull the trigger when emotions are flying high in the market and you are looking to do the opposite. It takes several trades before you even start to get comfortable doing this.

I hope this helps shed some light on market psychology.

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