Chris Vermeulen: If Things Work Out Like They Have in the Past This Market is Putting in a Top

Chris Vermeulen has been telling us for a couple of weeks that the major indexes are giving mixed signals. While the Dow and SP500 are still bullish, he is seeing tech and small cap stocks breakdown. And Vermeulen says that if things work out like they have in the past then the market is truly starting to put in a top. It could still take 5-10 days to play out. And usually the market will get choppy with large up and down days back to back and volatility will rise which can be seen by watching the VIX.

Make sure to follow Chris at The Gold and Oil Guy.Com. Here is his bi-weekly post for Monday morning.....

Depending what type of trader you are and what you focus on the most for trading you could be either bullish or bearish on the stock market right now. The charts below show how the Dow Jones Industrial Average is bullish while the Small-Cap Russell 2K is bearish. Options expiration last week really mixed the market up as the market makers and the big money players manipulate stock prices in their favor.

Let’s take a look at the charts.....

DIA – Dow Jones Industrial Average Daily Chart
Crude oil has been holding up very well the past couple weeks and that has had an impact on the Dow. Additionally IBM had a huge move up which accounts for almost 10% of the DJIA’s price action. Both these factors have skewed the Dow index to look bullish.

Currently the price is trading above the 5 period moving average after briefly tagging it on Friday and then bouncing higher. Volume has picked up indicating more people are exchanging positions because of a shift in sentiment. Remember the Dow represents only 30 stocks so it does not provide a solid view of the overall market strength.

SPY – SP500 Daily Chart
This index closed below the 5 period moving average with rising volume once again indicating a shift in trader sentiment. The SP500 is heavily weighted with financial stocks and with the financial sector under pressure last week it helped to pull this index down. The fact that it closed below the 5 period moving average is just a warning sign to be cautious. Overall trend is still up in this index.

QQQQ – NASDAQ Daily Chart
As you can see the technology heavy index (Nasdaq), there has been more selling going on. The Nasdaq closed below both key moving averages and is now testing the 20 period moving average which is the line in the sand before I’m bearish on this sector. Tech stocks are typically a good indicator for the overall health of the market and if it does not recover this week or if it forms a light volume bear flag then watch out below.

IWM – Russell 2K Small Cap Stock Index
Small cap stocks are usually the first to pullback in the market. As you can see there is a big difference between this chart and the Dow Jones…

Small caps has broken key moving averages and are now nearing the 50 period moving average which I figure will provide a small bounce or pause before crashing through it. But with the amount of selling volume happening in the small caps it could just drop through that level and keep on going. Only time will tell and its best to wait for a low risk entry point before taking a position.

Weekend Trading Conclusion:
In short, the major indexes are giving mixed signals. While the Dow and SP500 are still bullish, we are seeing tech and small cap stocks breakdown. If things work out like they have in the past then the market is truly starting to put in a top. It could still take 5-10 days to play out. Usually the market will get choppy with large up and down days back to back and volatility will rise which can be seen by watching the VIX. I am currently neutral on the market and waiting for a low risk setup to unfold.

You can get my trading videos, analysis and trade alerts by subscribing to my newsletter The Gold and Oil Guy.com

Chris Vermeulen


Share

Can David Banister's "State of the Markets" Prediction Hold Up?

We have been watching David Banister closer then ever this winter. Banister has kept our interest by repeatedly being ahead of the street on so many trades. His easy to understand explanations of his use of the Elliott Wave theory combined with his calls on the indexes and commodities has made our readers a lot of money. So what is Banister saying this week? He just sent over this article and it's a good one.....

I have been forecasting a Mid January top in the SP 500 (Us Markets) for multiple weeks now well in advance. My work had looked for 1285 as a minimal upside rally from the 1173 4th wave lows. The range was 1285-1315, we have been to 1296 but that pretty much should have capped off the rally. Here are some further thoughts:

Copper, Gold, Silver- All topping and rolling over for now. A few weeks ago I began to go bearish on Gold (And with it of course Silver), and the Elliott Wave patterns became very muddy and unclear. This was a warning signal. Also, the inability of Gold to pierce through the 1425-30 highs for a 3rd attempt indicated a triple top failure which I eluded to in an Email bulletin a few weeks back. The Gold, Copper, Silver topping and rollover movements are warning signals to be more cautious. Gold should work down to 1270-1280 eventually, and Silver to 25-26.50 ranges likely.

Small Cap Index- The TZA ETF I suggested on TMTF recently had a huge 2 day reversal rally on Thursday and Friday of this trading week. TZA Closed just over 16 and I see it moving to 19-20. We are long also in my ATP advisory service for insurance and gains potential. The Russell 2000 is rolling over first, which makes sense because the sentiment and strong economic rebound from the summer lows has peaked out. Small Caps are likely to correct the hardest in this wave pattern down, and so we shorted them instead of shorting the large caps or SP 500. To wit, this week the small caps dropped 3.5% and the SP 500 only 0.8%.

IBD 100 - The Investors Business Daily top 100 fell 5.4% this week collectively. A quick scan of the charts on those 100 reveals a lot of topping and weakness patterns to me. These would be considered leader small cap and mid cap growth stocks, and suggests further evidence of continuing correction in the markets.

Elliott Wave theory is scoffed at by many investors because they have been led to believe that Robert Prechter is apparently the only person on earth who has a license to use them. I’ll reserve my comments on his abilities, but you can gather that I tend to often disagree with his views and leave it at that. EWT works extremely well in the right hands, and that is why I launched TMTF last year, to share my views and my methods. This has allowed me to confirm summer bottoms at 1040 this year based on the movement from 1120 to 1040 (Which we also forecast). This allowed me to call a top on November 5th at 1225 after going just over my 1220 predictions made weeks in advance. This allowed me to call a bottom 4th wave at 1173-75 and a resulting rally to 1285 in advance. Not to mention April 2010 and January 2010 tops within days. Still think EWT is bunk? Try ignoring those who are biased and trade their biases. I dont trade Gold, Silver, or the SP 500 futures or indexes… that allows me to remain 100% objective and not force wave counts into my personal opinions.

EWT is not perfect, but nor is any forecasting methodology or technical analysis strategy. They all have their flaws. However, I try to blend in a few elements to back up my EW forecasts, so as to eliminate too many mistakes. Sentiment readings for one, and Fibonacci sequences for another.

Bottom line: I continue to be cautious on the markets and believe the SP 500 will drop to 1170-1180 on the LOW END, with 1210-1229 possible as the shallower end of a correction. The Russell 2000 will take the hardest hit, and probably has another 8-9% downside left before a bottom pivot. We remain long TZA to short that index at 3x multiple over at my ATP service. I have not shorted the SP 500 or large Caps on purpose, because I think the best place to short is small caps. I continue to recommend high cash positions for now (Im about 40%) so that you have money to buy into an oversold wave 2 bottom in the markets when it occurs. Gold will continue to correct with a bounce at 1310-1320 areas likely. I see it getting to 1270-1280 though as most likely.

Large Caps are likely to outperform small caps in 2011, as the bulk of the economic trough and rebound have now occurred and been priced in. Gold may struggle for several months but has a shot at hitting $1500-$1515 by years end, but one month at a time. That said, selective stock picking will always have the ability to trounce the index averages, and that is what I do over at Active Trading Partners.com.

Stay tuned!

If you would like to benefit from learning more about my methods, which have been historically accurate, please check us out at Active Trading Partner.com where you can sign up for free occasional reports.

David Bansiter


Share

OPEC to Increase Production, Oil Services Companies Show a Jump in Profits

It appears we will start the week with a pull back in crude oil prices as Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi released a statement that OPEC will increase supply to meet what seems to be inevitable increased demand coming out of China and India. Our "friends" at Goldman Sachs are saying this only indicates that OPEC is using it's spare production supply and should only further the bulls story.

We personally have learned to not let Goldman Sachs lead the way in our oil trading but you also can't ignore it. While retail investors have less effect on oil markets then some other sectors, Goldman Sachs can increase that interest with their apparent media attention grabbing abilities.

But it's North American demand that is making most hedge funds and commercial buyers take a bigger interest in the "crude oil bull story" this week as a report from Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed that these investors have ramped up their net long positions 0.4 percent in crude contracts in the week ended Jan. 18th.

The oil services sector is giving traders additional confidence as Schlumberger reported better than expected quarterly profit on Friday followed by Haliburton releasing fourth quarter reports showing their net profit rose to $605 million, or .66 cents per share, from $243 million, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 40 percent to $5.16 billion in the quarter after analysts had expected revenues to be $4.88 billion.

So do we open Monday morning selling the news on these companies? It's the numbers we trust and here's what we are using for Mondays trading......

Crude oil was lower overnight as it extends last week's decline. Stochastics and the RSI are bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near term. Closes below the reaction low crossing at 88.45 would confirm that a short term top has been posted. If March renews this winter's rally, weekly resistance crossing at 93.87 is the next upside target. First resistance is this year's high crossing at 93.46. Second resistance is weekly resistance crossing at 93.87. First support is the reaction low crossing at 88.45. Second support is the reaction low crossing at 88.07. Crude oil pivot point for Monday morning is 89.40.

Natural gas as it extends the rally off October's low. Stochastics and the RSI are overbought but remain bullish signaling that sideways to higher prices are possible near term. If March extends the rally off October's low, the 62% retracement level of the June-October decline crossing at 5.025 is the next upside target. Closes below the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.478 are needed to confirm that a short term top has been posted. First resistance is the overnight high crossing at 4.823. Second resistance is the 62% retracement level of the June-October decline crossing at 5.025. First support is the 10 day moving average crossing at 4.554. Second support is the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.478. Natural gas pivot point for Monday morning is 4.719.

Gold was higher due to short covering overnight as it consolidates some of this month's decline. Stochastics and the RSI are oversold but remain bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible. If February extends this month's decline, the reaction low crossing at 1331.10 is the next downside target. Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 1380.40 are needed to confirm that a short term low has been posted. First resistance is the 10 day moving average crossing at 1366.30. Second resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 1388.40. First support is last Friday's low crossing at 1337.00. Second support is the reaction low crossing at 1331.10. Gold pivot point for Monday morning is 1342.60.


Get ou Industry Leading Gold, Oil & Index ETF Trading Analysis

Share

Inventories and Threats of Chinese Tightening Give Commodity Bears The Advantage

Crude oil inventories spiked for a 2nd consecutive week, while on hand crude dropped in 3 out of 5 PAD districts the big gains in the Gulf Coast region created the net gain. Gasoline demand even fell for a 3rd consecutive week as gasoline inventories also made considerable gains. And oil prices showed the effects on Thursday touching a two week low of $88.00. But it wasn't all about inventories, commodities in general took a beating as traders seem to put more into the concerns over Chinese attempts to reel in their inflation worries with new rounds of tightening.


In a great article from Phil Flynn he reminds us "The Chinese, to keep up this charade, will have to buy more and more commodities from the global market to keep it going. The more artificially cheap commodities they feed to their ravenous marketplace will only leave the country wanting more and more. This of course would lead to an eventual monster bubble that if popped could take China’s economy down. The market already realizes what the Chinese should do".


Are the crude oil bulls in trouble here? According to Petromatrix GmbH yesterday’s crude oil's drop put it’s five day rolling mean below the nine day for the first time since Jan. 4. The decline of a short term indicator of momentum before a longer term measure is described as a “dead cross” and may be a sign that prices may correct lower. Olivier Jakob of Switzerland based consultant Zug reported “Brent and WTI are now suffering from a negative cross-over of the five to nine day moving average, and bulls will need to close today above the five day".

All the woes of Brent and the WTI as OPEC is increasingly facing calls to boost oil production as crude prices in Asia and Africa surpass $100 a barrel for the first time in two years. Nigeria’s Bonny Light grade, from which traders gauge the cost of West African oil, rose to $100.12 a barrel on Jan. 17, passing $100 for the first time since October 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Our regular readers know how we feel about Fridays. The closing price on Friday will always tell us what traders are feeling comfortable about leaving on the table. As we go to press markets indicate that yesterdays sell off was a bit over done as prices have touched 90.22 before pulling back. Better top off your coffee, here's our numbers for Fridays trading.....


Crude oil was higher due to short covering overnight as it consolidates some of Thursday's decline. Stochastics and the RSI are bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near term. Closes below the reaction low crossing at 88.45 would confirm that a short term top has been posted. If March renews this winter's rally, weekly resistance crossing at 93.87 is the next upside target. First resistance is this year's high crossing at 93.46. Second resistance is weekly resistance crossing at 93.87. First support is the reaction low crossing at 88.45. Second support is the reaction low crossing at 88.07. Crude oil pivot point for Friday morning is 90.10.


Natural gas was higher overnight and trading above the previous reaction high crossing at 4.707 thereby renewing the rally off December's low. Stochastics and the RSI are diverging but have turned bullish signaling that sideways to higher prices are possible near term. If February extends the rally off December's low, the 50% retracement level of the June-October decline crossing at 4.876 is the next upside target. Closes below the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.448 are needed to confirm that a short term top has been posted. First resistance is the overnight high crossing at 4.747. Second resistance is the 50% retracement level of the June-October decline crossing at 4.876. First support is the 10 day moving average crossing at 4.514. Second support is the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.448. Natural gas pivot point for Friday morning is 4.641.


Gold was lower overnight as it extends this month's decline. Stochastics and the RSI are becoming oversold but remain bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible. If February extends this month's decline, the reaction low crossing at 1331.10 is the next downside target. Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 1382.20 are needed to confirm that a short term low has been posted. First resistance is the 10 day moving average crossing at 1368.80. Second resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 1382.20. First support is the overnight low crossing at 1340.20. Second support is the reaction low crossing at 1331.10. Gold Pivot point for Friday morning is 1353.30.


Get Our Gold, Oil & Index ETF Trading Analysis

Share

Apple and Goldman Crash, But is the High Still Coming?

On Wednesday the equities market poured out a sea of red candles. Leaving most traders and investors feeling that most all of their recent gains had disappeared in one short session. And we have warned repeatedly that strong selling volume sessions like this is typically an early warning that distribution selling is starting to enter the market.

Distribution selling is when the big money players start unloading large positions in anticipation of a market top. They do try to hide it by selling into good news or earnings when the average investors are buying into all the hype of better than expected earnings on the news. As average investors jump into the market because of the good news, this extra liquidity helps the big money players (banks, hedge funds, etc..) sell large amounts of their positions to the eager buyers. This is why the “buy on rumor and sell on the news” saying is kicked around wall street.....

To me, panic selling is typically seen as a bullish sign to enter the market simply because if everyone is/has rushed to the door to sell what they own, then really most of the down side risk has been taken out of the market. That being said after an extended multi month rally and higher than selling volume I look at it more like distribution selling and a shift in momentum.

I feel the precious metals sector will be starting something like this in the near futures, and possibly it has already started as seen in the rising volume on the down days.

Let’s take a look at the charts…

AAPL – Apple Stock 10 Minute Chart
Two days ago AAPL shares took big hit because of some medical issues with the CEO, the shares did float back up. But what is important here is the distribution selling which took place after Apple came out with much better than expected earnings. The general public loves to buy good news especially when it’s for a famous company. But large sellers stepped in unloading as much of their position as they could before making it look to obvious.

The average investor listening on the radio or catching snippets on the news do not pick up on these things which is why the big money players can get away with this over and over again.

GS – Goldman Sachs 10 Minute Chart
Goldman came out with average earnings being just above estimates and the share price took a beating with very strong volume.

Distribution selling looks to be entering the market and this is a bearish sign. I would not be surprised if we see the market top out in the next 5-10 trading sessions.

SPY – SP500 10 Minute Chart
Here you can see my green panic selling indicator spiking up much higher than normal dwarfing the past sell off spikes. This makes me think the big money is now starting to unload which will shift the current upward momentum to more of a sideways whipsaw type of price action. Eventually it will roll over and a new down trend will start.

As you can see from this chart the SP500 is trading down at a support level so a bounce is likely going to take place. If in fact today was the first distribution day then the big money should let the price inflate back up to the recent highs and possibly make a new high to help keep investors bullish before the hit their SELL BUTTON again… They like to play these games and understanding them is a key part of trading. Expect choppy price action for a week or two…...

Silver Daily Chart – The Next Wave of Selling?
I look at silver and gold as one… so what I show here is the exact same for gold.

As you can see silver is trading under 3 of its key moving averages and Wednesdays bounce was sold into after testing the 14 and 20 period moving averages.

Take a looking at the bottom of the chart and you can see distribution selling volume as the spikes are all down days. If silver breaks below the $28 level then we could easily and quickly see the $26 and maybe even the $24 level.

The Mid-Week Market & Metals Trading Conclusion:
In short, the financial power players are pulling out all the tricks to shake traders out of their positions. A lot of people shorted the market in the past 2 weeks only to get hung out to dry and most likely stopped out of their short positions for a loss. Fortunately we did the opposite taking another long position in the SP500 ETFS because my market internal indicators, market breadth and simple trading strategy clearly pointed out that the average investor was trying to pick a top by shorting the market. As we all know, the market is designed to hurt the masses which is why I focus on the underlying trends, price action, volume and market sentiment for timing trend changes.

That being said, I still think the market could grind higher and make another new high. But any rally or new high will most likely get stepped on with heavy selling. Expect strong selling days followed by a couple days of light volume sessions where the price drifts back up into resistance levels. This could take a week or two to unfold so don’t jump the gun and short yet. It’s best to see more distribution selling before picking a top.

If you like these trading reports or if you would like to get my daily pre-market trading videos, intraday charts, updates and trade alerts be sure to join my newsletter. Visit The Gold and Oil Guy.Com

Chris Vermeulen


Share

Crude Oil Really is Our New World Currency

This weeks visit to the U.S. by Chinese leader Hu Jintao is making it painfully obvious for crude oil traders that crude oil is the new world currency. And while President Hu is apparently furious at the U.S. QE and QE2 actions of printing money, give them credit for trying to print or control all of the "new world currency" they can. The Chinese are replacing American companies in Costa Rica, expanding projects in the middle east and Africa and starting new projects off the coast of Cuba while U.S. companies still look for approval to drill within eye site of the China/Cuba projects. And it's paying off for them as reports show Chinas oil production increased 6.9% in 2010.

With pipelines plugged and European debt crisis slinking their way out of the news all eyes are back to inventory levels and the Euro/Dollar trade. Enjoy the temporary return of the quiet, peaceful, easy trade. Our future lies in Chinese GDP numbers, inflation and currency manipulation news. On that subject, China's National Bureau of Statistics Thursday also reported that fourth quarter gross domestic product grew 9.8% from a year earlier, above economists' expectations for a 9.2% expansion. So much for the poor guys and their attempt at gradually imposing lending restrictions to prevent runaway inflation.

With looming inventory numbers and the dollar falling along side crude oil overnight, let's take a run at it today using these pivot, support and resistance numbers.....

Crude oil was lower overnight as it consolidates some of last week's rally. Stochastics and the RSI are turning bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near term. Closes below the reaction low crossing at 87.25 would confirm that a short term top has been posted. If February extends last week's rally, this year's high crossing at 92.58 is the next upside target. First resistance is this year's high crossing at 92.58. Second resistance is weekly resistance crossing at 93.87. First support is the reaction low crossing at 87.25. Second support is the reaction low crossing at 84.09. Crude oil pivot point for Thursday morning is 92.10.

Natural gas was slightly higher overnight as it extends the short covering rebound off last week's low. Stochastics and the RSI remain neutral to bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near term. Closes below the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.414 are needed to confirm that a short term top has been posted. If February renews the rally off December's low, the 50% retracement level of the June-October decline crossing at 4.876 is the next upside target. First resistance is this month's high crossing at 4.707. Second resistance is the 50% retracement level of the June-October decline crossing at 4.876. First support is the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.414. Second support is December's low crossing at 3.985. Natural gas pivot point for Thursday morning is 4.517.

Gold was lower overnight signaling a possible end to a two day short covering bounce off Monday's low. Stochastics and the RSI are bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible. If February extends this month's decline, the reaction low crossing at 1331.10 is the next downside target. Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 1385.20 are needed to confirm that a short term low has been posted. First resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 1385.20. Second resistance is this month's high crossing at 1424.40. First support is the reaction low crossing at 1352.70. Second support is the reaction low crossing at 1331.10. Gold pivot point for Thursday morning is 1371.50.


Don't miss our "Profitable Options Strategies Report"

Share

Five New Ideas for Energy Markets to make Money With in 2011

2010 was an amazing year for commodity traders so we have to ask ourselves is the top in? Are we now in "bubble territory" when it comes to commodities like oil? And what about energy, do we still have room to run in the energy sector?

In today's short video we are going to show you some of the markets that we are looking at in the energy complex. We're going to be looking at coal, oil, solar and some other large energy companies and ETF's.

As this is a short video, be sure to check in and watch our webinar this Thursday, January 20th at 4pm EST/9pm GMT. You will need to reserve a spot as tour webinars typically reach capacity quickly. Just click here to register for this weeks webinar. As always all webinars are free to attend.

Take a look at what we will be covering in the webinar and check out our new portfolio manager which we will be using extensively throughout today's video. We also have a big surprise which will be announced at the webinar and I have no doubt that you will like. Today's video requires no registration and is free to watch:

Want to trade like Adam? Click here for FREE lessons.

Share

OPEC Quietly Raising Output Overshadowed By Chinese Macroeconomic Data

Positive Chinese macroeconomic data gave the crude oil and commodity bulls the advantage in the European session overnight even as traders digest news that OPEC has quietly been increasing production. OPEC seems to keep finding ways to make themselves irrelevant as OPEC's own report revealed that compliance level for the "OPEC 11" dropped to 54.0% in December 2010. Looks like OPEC as quietly been raising production while sending their cheerleaders out to the press to call for higher oil prices for some of their ailing economies as they themselves fight to contain food prices in some of their own countries.

And this may not make the nightly news but I am sure the visit to the White House by Chinese President Hu Jintao will have the leaders focusing on world food prices as China has made a priority out of bringing new energy sources online at all cost. And Washington will be playing catch up again, but there is hope for the new "Clintonized" Obama agenda as the attitude towards business coming from the administration is changing quickly. Does this mean we have some new permits being approved for Nuclear power plants right around the corner? We won't be holding our breaths for that but we can still dream.

Oil futures are up this morning as far out as February 2012 but well below the the critical 92.58 level. Is it all aboard the bull bus this morning? Here's your pivot, resistance and support numbers for Wednesdays trading.......

Crude oil was higher overnight and remains poised to extend last week's rally. Stochastics and the RSI remain neutral to bullish signaling that sideways to higher prices are possible near term. If February extends last week's rally, this year's high crossing at 92.58 is the next upside target. Closes below the reaction low crossing at 87.25 would confirm that a short term top has been posted. First resistance is this year's high crossing at 92.58. Second resistance is weekly resistance crossing at 93.87. First support is the reaction low crossing at 87.25. Second support is the reaction low crossing at 84.09. Crude oil pivot point for Wednesday morning is 92.21.

Natural gas was slightly higher overnight as it consolidates above the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.385. Stochastics and the RSI are bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near term. Closes below the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.385 are needed to confirm that a short term top has been posted. If February renews the rally off December's low, the 50% retracement level of the June-October decline crossing at 4.876 is the next upside target. First resistance is this month's high crossing at 4.707. Second resistance is the 50% retracement level of the June-October decline crossing at 4.876. First support is the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.385. Second support is December's low crossing at 3.985. Natural gas pivot point for Wednesday morning is 4.450

Gold was higher due to short covering overnight as it consolidates some of last week's rally. Stochastics and the RSI are bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible. If February extends last week's decline, the reaction low crossing at 1331.10 is the next downside target. Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 1386.70 are needed to confirm that a short term low has been posted. First resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 1386.70. Second resistance is this month's high crossing at 1424.40. First support is the reaction low crossing at 1352.70. Second support is the reaction low crossing at 1331.10. Gold pivot point for Wednesday morning is 1367.00.


Market Trends Trading Made Easy - Learn How

Share

Crude Oil Bears Gain Momentum on Pipeline Opening and Weaker Euro

Hopes of a stronger Euro were dashed this week as European leaders have made a surprise move of putting off any real rescue plan until March. Giving a new round of strength to the U.S. Dollar and putting pressure on the crude oil bulls at least for the near term. The reopening of the Alyeska Pipeline has also given the crude oil bears reason for hope as the pipeline operators officially announced that repairs are complete. In its monthly report on Tuesday, the IEA, said world oil demand growth in 2011 would be slightly higher than it had previously expected, although it would not reach the "exceptional levels" of last year.

Expect a bit more "noise" from OPEC in 2011 as the current OPEC President will be Iran's Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi. And in a news conference Mirkazemi stated "None of the OPEC members find $100 concerning or irrational. Some of the OPEC members see no need for an emergency meeting even with prices at $110 or $120". All that really matters to the west is if the more moderate producers like Saudi Arabia, Gulf allies Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates will make a move to prevent prices from escalating further.

The 3 day weekend is over for us here in the U.S. so let's trade, here is your pivot, support and resistance numbers for Tuesday.......

Crude oil was slightly lower overnight as it consolidates some of last week's rally. Stochastics and the RSI remain neutral to bullish signaling that sideways to higher prices are possible near term. If February extends last week's rally, this year's high crossing at 92.58 is the next upside target. Closes below the reaction low crossing at 87.25 would confirm that a short term top has been posted. First resistance is this year's high crossing at 92.58. Second resistance is weekly resistance crossing at 93.87. First support is the reaction low crossing at 87.25. Second support is the reaction low crossing at 84.09. Crude oil pivot point for Tuesday morning is 91.22.

Natural gas was slightly higher overnight as it consolidates above the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.393. Stochastics and the RSI are neutral signaling that sideways trading is possible near term. Closes below the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.393 are needed to confirm that a short term top has been posted. If February renews the rally off December's low, the 50% retracement level of the June-October decline crossing at 4.876 is the next upside target. First resistance is this month's high crossing at 4.707. Second resistance is the 50% retracement level of the June-October decline crossing at 4.876. First support is the 20 day moving average crossing at 4.393. Second support is December's low crossing at 3.985. Natural gas pivot point for Tuesday morning is 4.510.

Gold was higher due to short covering overnight as it consolidates some of last week's rally. Stochastics and the RSI are bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible. If February extends last week's decline, the reaction low crossing at 1331.10 is the next downside target. Closes above the 20 day moving average crossing at 1386.10 are needed to confirm that a short term low has been posted. First resistance is the 20 day moving average crossing at 1386.10. Second resistance is this month's high crossing at 1424.40. First support is the reaction low crossing at 1356.50. Second support is the reaction low crossing at 1331.10. gold pivot point for Tuesday morning is 1361.10.


Share

David Bannister: Gold Remains Bearish, SP 500 Appears to Be Topping

Well, our time line for the crude oil pull back is upon us this week. Right or wrong we all fully backed by safe stops being in place. And David Banister appears to be making the same call in gold and the SP 500. His most recent forecasts for the SP 500 and Gold have been calling for interim peaks in both around Mid-January. Gold, he told his subscribers a few weeks ago, was definitely topping and likely to drop now to $1270-$1280 per ounce before resuming the Bull Market advance. The SP 500 he had forecasted a 1285-1315 topping area since the 1175 pivot lows on that index, and we are very close as well in that regard.

Gold has been in a 9 plus year bull market since 2001 and has another 3 years plus left on this Bull run. However, pauses must occur along the way and this should be a 4th wave corrective Elliott pattern if his views are right. This is taking the form of a 3-3-5 correction from the $1430 top. We are in the final 5 waves down now, and it’s about to get ugly near term so strap on your seat belts. His chart forecast is below and if he is right, there will be excellent opportunities to pick up some good Juniors and also the precious metals themselves around that $1270-$1280 area. Following this correction, we could have a run to about $1515 per ounce, and he expects this entire pattern to take 6 months to a year to play out from the $1430 top to the $1270 ish bottoms, and back to $1515.

The SP 500 is completing the final 5th wave movement from the 1010 Jul 1st lows this past summer. This is only the first full wave pattern movement of a big 5 wave leg up from July 1st. What this means in English is we have a near term top likely in the 1285-1315 areas, followed by a wave 2 correction to around the 1175-1180 areas. Sentiment right now is running at major extremes last seen at interim peaks in January of 2010 and April of 2010 where he had also forecasted tops within days of the peaks. Banister is looking for the SP 500 to end up around 1600 on the index after this coming wave 2 correction, but he reminds us to take it one pivot and step at a time. Below is his forecast chartwise:

If you would like to benefit from learning more about Elliott Wave based forecasting using David Banisters methods, which have been historically accurate, please check him out at Market Trend Forecast.com There is a coupon available if you’d like to subscribe or you can sign up for free occasional reports.

Share