The U.S. Dollar’s Impact on Price Action in the S&P 500, Gold, & Crude Oil

I was starting to put on my bullish hat on Friday morning when out of the blue an ugly close has forced me to rethink my position. After viewing a few hundred charts, I have determined that while I am still leaning into higher prices at this point in time, I will not totally rule out a rollover on the S&P 500. In coming days the news flow will be extreme and headline risk will be everywhere we look. The S&P 500 has been able to deflect worry for quite some time now and in every case the resiliency is unquestionable.

However, we are nearing the beginning of another earnings season which will start in just a few weeks’ time. First quarter earnings for 2011 are going to be quite interesting and most analysts’ estimates are relatively challenging. Will the rubber hit the road into earnings? Are we about to see a double top play out into earnings, or is there going to be a breakout which will take us to the SPX 1,400 – 1,415 price level?

I know, I ask a lot of questions but quite frankly that is what is running through my head. The SPX is not out of the woods yet, and the price action on Friday indicated that there is some serious supply overhead and two key resistance levels to break through before the SPX gets back to clear blue skies overhead. That being said Chris Vermeulen has caught a nice part of the recent bounce with his subscribers. He does feel the market is about to get choppy but his analysis is pointing to overall higher prices in the coming weeks.

SPX illustrates the two key price levels:

In addition to the uncertainty that earnings season can bring, the primary reason why I am still leaning into a bullish move in the S&P 500 is the recent price action in the U.S. Dollar Index futures. The U.S. Dollar is scheduled to make its 3 year cycle low sometime this spring and the recent price action is indicative that the recent lows may not be the cycle lows. If the U.S. Dollar Index breaks down below recent lows, I would expect to see a nasty sell off.

The U.S. Dollar Index futures daily chart is shown below:

Whether readers believe that we are going to be in an inflationary environment or a deflationary environment is a topic for a different time, but the chart above is undeniable that recently the U.S. Dollar has declined in value and is exhibiting weak price action. Friday morning it looked as though the U.S. Dollar was going to rip higher, but by the end of the day sellers had stepped in and forced the U.S. Dollar into the red for the session. The price action on Friday highlighted the weakness in the U.S. Dollar and the high levels of overhead supply.

If the U.S. Dollar continues to weaken, in the short run I would view this as a positive for the S&P 500, crude oil, and precious metals. If the dollar breaks down to new lows, it should help bouy the S&P 500 and gold prices. Gold has been consolidating for nearly 6 months and a breakout higher from current price levels would make a trip to $1,500 an ounce very likely. I would not be surprised to see gold work even higher than $1,500 an ounce depending on how violent the selloff in the U.S. Dollar might be.

The weekly chart of gold futures is listed below:

I would think that most investors are aware that crude oil futures have been trading higher recently. On Friday oil prices climbed above recent resistance around the $107/barrel price level and reached new recent highs. Members that belong to my paid service enjoyed a relatively low risk options trade that we put on several weeks ago which involved selling cash secured naked puts on $USO. The trade was closed on Friday for a total gain of 85% of the premium that was sold. For long time readers, my stance on energy has been pretty obvious. In the longer term, energy prices almost have to go up as the world’s demand for energy increases while supplies remain flat.

I will likely get involved in another oil trade at some point in the future, but for right now I’m going to wait for a more prudent entry. Based on current price action, it would not surprise me to see crude oil futures test the $110 – $112 per barrel price range in the near future. If the $112/barrel price level is breached to the upside, a test of the $120/barrel price level will be likely.

The weekly chart of oil futures is listed below:

Weekend Trend Conclusion:
The S&P 500 is in an interesting place as far as the price action is concerned. With earnings season rapidly approaching and a possible break down in the U.S. Dollar Index likely, future price action is uncertain. I am leaning into the bullish camp at this point, but that could change rather quickly based on the price action later this week in both the S&P 500 and the U.S. Dollar Index. One thing worth mentioning is that if the U.S. Dollar Index were to bottom around these levels and a bounce higher transpired, it would put negative price pressure on most asset classes. The fact that price action in the U.S. Dollar Index has been weak lately makes me believe a break down is likely, but as most readers know Mr. Market offers few guarantees.

Assuming the U.S. Dollar breaks down, we should see the S&P 500, precious metals, and oil continue to work higher. My eyes are going to be watching the U.S. Dollar Index closely in coming days/weeks. If a breakdown transpires, the potential upside in precious metals and oil could be intense. Ultimately, I remain slightly bullish on stocks and extremely bullish on oil and precious metals. However, my entire thesis could change if the U.S. Dollar Index starts to firm up and begins to work higher. There are simply too many question marks surrounding price action to take on significant amounts of risk at this point in time.

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Mid-Week U.S. Dollar, Gold & SP500 Trend Trading

It has been a roller coaster week thus far as stocks and precious metals plunged on heavy selling volume on the back of a rising dollar, only to make a strong rebound Wednesday. While there has been significant intraday price movement, it was no surprise to us as we have been anticipating this pullback since discussing it in my Sunday Gold Newsletter. Let’s take a quick look at the charts....

US Dollar Daily Trading Chart
The past couple weeks the dollar has traded in a choppy fashion, and last week I mentioned to subscribers to keep any new positions small. The dollar looked ready to make a bounce and if it reverses we will see stocks and commodities correct rather sharply.

Last week we trimmed some profits on our gold and SP500 trading positions in anticipation of a rising dollar/lower equity and metals prices. The dollar is currently in a down trend so we are still trading with the trend, but the next couple sessions could potentially change that.

As you can see on the chart a similar pattern to what we saw during the May/June top earlier this year has now formed in reverse this month. It’s a simple pattern I call a drop-n-wash. It is like dropping a knife – you panic, then take action (move foot, then wash the kife). That is typically how the market reacts to this type of price pattern after an extended trend has taking place for a long period of time.

The dollar made an obvious breakdown which the entire world witnessed, causing traders who recently went long to panic and sell their positions. Those who like to short the dollar would have taken a short position, only to see the market reverse and head straight back up again. This pattern has yet to confirm, but through the use of the shorter time frame charts (5 Min, 10 Min, 30 Min), I have a feeling the dollar may continue to rise. However, until the dollar shows considerable strength I am still playing the long equities / long gold side of the equation.

SPY – SP500 ETF Trading Fund
The SP500 made a nice move up last week and we trimmed our position back to lock in more gains as I anticipated this pullback and possible gap fill. As you can see on the chart the moving averages are all heading up and that’s the direction we are still focusing on playing (buying dips).

The morning dip on Wednesday the market sentiment started to shift to become extremely bearish on the short term time frame (10 minute charts). If the market drops down to fill the rest of that gap, I have a feeling the majority of traders will panic out of their position giving us an extreme sentiment buy signal. Also a gap fill will bring the price down to the key moving averages which will act as a support level. I will notify members to add more to my SP500 long position if that happens.

GLD – Gold ETF Trading Fund
Gold has much of the same story as the SP500 but with a couple twists. Gold has huge global demand from banks, investors and traders adding more buying power to this investment than stocks right now. We could see gold hold up above its gap that formed last week. That being said, a pullback to the key moving averages would not only act as a major support level but also fill the gap. We currently have our long positions, but trimmed some profits near the highs and are sitting tight letting the market work it’s self out.

Mid-Week ETF Trading Conclusion:
In short, the focus should be kept on trading with the underlying trends until a trend change has been confirmed. So that means short the dollar, long equities, metals and oil.

That being said, because things are starting to look unstable it is crucial to trade smaller position sizes during times of uncertainty like this. Anticipating major market tops is very difficult and generally costly play, just ask everyone who has been trying to pick a top for the past 2 months… Anticipate trend changes, but don’t trade them until the price/volume action confirms the new trend.

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Stock Market Leaders Are Now Lagging?

Wednesday’s session closed mixed on the day. The DOW posted a third of a percent gain while the tech sector closed down almost nine tenths of a percent. While technology stocks have been leading the market higher in the recent months, today they took the back seat while the DOW took control. Take a look at the intraday chart of the SPY price action compared to the tech sector. It’s clear the tech stocks where not in favor today. Some tech stocks that really took a beating today were FFIV, NTAP, APKT and AKAM. On another note, we are entering earning season and I am wondering if we are going to see a “Sell the New” type of thing again.

The broad market is experiencing a 36 day down cycle which has played a very dominant roll in the market this year. It topped out 9 days ago so we should expect sideways chop or some selling over the next 9 trading session. Because the market is trending up, pullbacks should be shallow.

The market continues to grind its way higher on relatively light volume. I have been waiting several weeks now for the volume to come back into the market but its just not happening. The majority of shares being traded are from banks, funds and day traders as the average investor’s not taking part because of the uncertainty looming. The lack of volume (commitment) to the market from the masses is making the market internals swing from one extreme to another on virtually weekly basis making it more difficult to take advantage of short term extreme sentiment levels.

The current market environment has traders shifting gears to more of a momentum trading strategy to take advantage of trends and this is what I am going to start implementing again as the market expands.

Market Conclusion:
In short, the equities market is in an up trend but looks to be overbought. Also with the downward cycle I don’t think the market will expand here and take off. Rather it will most likely chop around and burn off time until some earnings are released and the cycle bottoms. Unless we get a really sharp reversal down which we have yet to see on the SP500 or DOW, nibbling on small long positions or staying in cash is what I am doing right now.

As for gold, silver, the dollar and oil… Well the dollar continues to lose value on a daily basis which in turn is boosting metals along with crude oil. All four of those investments are over extended but they are trending and not really looking like they want to reverse just yet.

Chris Vermeulen
The Gold And Oil Guy.com

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SP500 Pierces, Bonds Rally, Dollars Fall Out the Window

From Chris Vermeulen at The Gold And Oil Guy.Com.......

It’s been a wild ride the past few days OptionsX, Obama and FOMC comments. Seems like everyone is waiting to see what the market is going to do going forward at this pivotal point…

Since the market topped in April and has since been trading sideways in this rather large range, everyone has small positions at work but waiting for a decisive move before fully committing to one side. There could be a few opportunities in the coming days using bonds, the dollar and the SP500 if all goes well which I explain below.

Lets take a look at the charts.....

SP500 – SPY ETF, Daily Chart
There has been a lot of talk about a sharp rally if the SP500 could break the 1130 level or the neckline everyone is talking about. Well this week Obama was on TV and the market rallied into that, then again after. I don’t really thing investors or traders were buying things up as he said the same boring stuff he always says without anything new. I feel there could have been another force at work, which we can discus another time .

Anyways, the market pierced those resistance levels and I’m sure a ton of traders have switch their view on the market from bearish to bullish. While I prefer to trade with the trend I can’t help but feel this market is still range bound, which is why I am still bearish at these shakeout levels. The SP500 did break resistance BUT the following candle did not close above the breakout candles high to confirm the move.

That said, the market is now trading back down at support and the next couple of days I’m sure will shed some like on the direction.

20 Year Bonds – TLT Fund, Daily Chart
We have seen the bond price pullback in a bull flag formation. It touched support before bouncing to break short term resistance as it looks to have started another rally. The chart below overlays both the candlesticks of the bond price and the SP500 which is the white line. You will notice they have an inverse relationship. If bond prices continue to rally then lower SP500 could start to rollover.

US Dollar – UUP Fund, Daily Chart
The dollar has fallen sharply the past 10 trading session and it looks to be oversold for a couple reasons. The past couple days the price has dropped straight down and gapped lower. This recent drop has reached a gap window which will act as support and could provide a tradable bounce in the coming days depending how things unfold.

In short, the SP500 is flirting with resistance and has yet to confirm the breakout. Bond prices look to be headed higher which will makes me think equities could start to sell off any day now… It’s also important to note that the big banks GS and JPM shares have been under pressure and they tend to lead the broad market. Another point to add is the fact the oil has not rallied even though the dollar dropped like a rock? What happens if the dollar bounces? Could oil finally start its next leg down?

Gold and silver continue their steady grind up. The price action reminds me of the 2009 Nov –Dec move. Once that train de-rails its going to have a sharp correction…

You can get my ETF and Commodity Trading Signals if you become a subscriber of my newsletter. These free reports will continue to come on a weekly basis; however, instead of covering 3-5 investments at a time, I’ll be covering only 1. Newsletter subscribers will be getting more analysis that’s actionable. I’ve also decided to add video analysis as it allows me toe get more into across to you quicker and is more educational, and I’ll be covering more of the market to include currencies, bonds and sectors. Before everyone’s emails were answered personally, but now my focus is on building a strong group of traders and they will receive direct personal responses regarding trade ideas and analysis going forward.

Let the volatility and volume return!

Chris Vermeulen....The Gold And Oil Guy.Com

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SP500 and Gold At Crucial Pivot Points

WOW that was some big short covering and buying today! And we hope you got a piece of it! Wednesday was a big session with better than expected manufacturing surging the market 3%. In this article I will do a quick technical take on the current situation for the SP500 and gold as they are both trading at a key resistance level. also its important to know what type of price action we will get in the next 1-2 days so you can have your profit targets or protective stops in place depending on which side of the market you are currently playing.

SPY – SP500 Exchange Traded Fund – 60 Minute Chart
The market is currently in a down trend which means bounces get sold. But if you take a look at the buying volume ratio at the bottom of the chart you will notice that in an uptrend buying surges are the beginning of a rally, and during a downtrend buying surges are the end of a rally. I also want to mention that a lot of volume traded at this current level which you can see on the volume by price bars on the chart. This means there will be a lot of sellers to overcome before breaking to the upside.

The situation the market is at now makes things difficult to tell if this bounce will get sold, or if its just the starting of a rally. There are several arguments for each side but the one which I think has the most influence is the buying volume. It was very strong on this current bounce. It feels more like a rally but we will not know for sure for a couple days…

That being said, if the SP500 moves up Thursday then I would consider the market to be in an uptrend and exiting any short positions is a smart play. But if this bounce is sold and the market drops, then the 3% rally on Wednesday could all be given back and then some.

GLD Gold Exchange Traded Fund – 60 Minute Chart
Gold has continued to grind its way up to the previous top. Problem is the volume has been very light and that tells me there is not much demand for gold at these elevated prices. While we are still long gold it is crucial to have your protective stop in place so we lock in as much profit as possible for when the sharp selling spike happens.

Mid-Week Technical Take:
In short, the market feels like its trying to reverse back up but at this time its still in a down trend and trading under a key resistance level. This means trading with the trend and selling the bounces is still the play.

That being said today’s strong volume makes this bounce suspect. Keeping positions small and setting a protective stop should be done as a safety precaution. The next couple days will shed some light for sure…

As for gold, I am still bullish but expecting our protective stops to be triggered any day now, which means we get paid and can mark another successful trade down on the scoreboard.

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High Volume Resistance Plagues Precious Metals, Crude Oil & SP500

Last week was a relatively strong week for stocks and commodities. Although the SP500 closed slightly lower on the week the price action Friday was strong. The recent pop in commodities has everyone feeling good and bullish again and we all know how the market works… When everyone is feeling good the market has a way of shaking things up.

Below are a few charts showing heavy volume resistance levels that will most likely cause the broad market & commodities to pullback or trade sideways for a few days as buyers and sellers play tug-o-war.

SLV – Silver Bullion ETF Trading
Silver had a very nice pop last week but if you step back and look the recent price action you can see that it’s still trading below the previous major bounce from back in June. It looks as though silver is a little over extended as large percentage moves tend to give back 25-50% of the mover shortly after.

Take a look at the price by volume bar. It shows there has been heavy volume traded at that $19.00 level and the previous time it was reached sellers stepped back in pulling silver down.

GLD – Gold Bullion ETF Trading
Gold is trading deep into the resistance level and struggling to hold up. Last week we went long GLD after the bullish engulfing candle and took profits near the high two days later on Thursday’s price. Although gold is trading at resistance the intraday price action remains somewhat bullish/neutral for the time being.

USO – Oil ETF Trading
The oil ETF broke down from its large multi-month bear flag and is now bouncing up to test that breakdown/resistance level. This could be a possible kiss good bye. I will keep my eye on this commodity as it could provide us with a great shorting opportunity in the coming days.

SPY – SP500 ETF Trading
The equities market has been tried to bottom all week and Friday’s price action looks strong. While the chart looks strong the market internals are telling me the opposite. Last week we saw a gap down and Friday that gap window was filled. With heavy volume resistance just above the current price the odds are pointing to lower prices.

Weekend Equities and Commodities ETF Trading Report:
In short, it looks as though everything is trading just under or at resistance levels. That means sellers will start to enter the market and cause prices to stall (trade sideways/choppy) and or reverse lower.

That being said, with Friday’s strong close for oil and the sp500 I am expecting a gap higher in the morning because traders will review those charts this weekend and enter the market Monday feeling bullish.

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