I just try to keep answers simple. Freetradingvideos.com is great for the indepth chart analysis. And as far as Congress doing the right thing, I highly doubt they are, but right now the market is simply looking for something other than gridlock. If they make an anoucement that sounds better than what the house came up with, our rally continues. Thats all I care about. When things get pretty high, then Ill be thinking contrarian and hunting for reasons to go short, and also good stocks to short in that situation.
QQQQ has closed in the green for the last 4 trading days. I just checked and the last time this index closed in the green 5 trading days in a row was in 2007. Then again, the last time I heard this argument used was in Oct 2008 where somebody said QQQQ is not likely to close in the red more than 5 trading days in a row and it came up red for 8 days in a row. Step right up and place your bets...
We probably bounced off of a major bottom right around the "Obama says change" support level all we need now is a little "obama hope" and we are off on a rocket ship ride to S&P 1500.
The market moves in waves up and down. The market can be moving down on a longer time scale but move up on a shorter time scale. On a short time scale, the main reason a market goes up is that it went down, and vice versa. It is a big mistake to expect the market to immediately move one way or the other based on news. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't. Technical aspects are very important in determining the highest probability moves on a short time scale, whereas fundamentals determine market direction on a longer time scale. Someone here mentioned that the market had moved down to support, so it is not unexpected that it would bounce off of support. But as the fundamentals and news are bad and getting worse, eventually, i.e., in the long run, the odds favor a breakdown below support. Technically, however, the odds favor support holding and the market moving back up across the consolidation channel it has been trading in. That's why as a trader you must not assume the market will go one way or the other, but wait and let the market show you which direction it wants to go. Recognize also that there are many times when one can not tell which direction the market wants to go. Those are times to sit on your hands.
I dunno but I kinda doubt it be under 500k. Anyway, I noticed the couple of previous times the jobs report comes out the market goes the way of the job report for 10-15 points and then back the other way for the rest of the day. Who drives that initial move and who drives the reversal?
here you go: Progress On Pricing Issue The latest round of discussions also appear to have addressed the most controversial aspect of the big bank concept: Pricing. Under the emerging plan, the government will buy toxic assets below the banks "carrying value," which is basically market value, but not at fire sale levels, the source said. That approach will likely placate both taxpayer and Congressional concerns about the government over-paying for the assets. But, the source noted, it could "trigger an accounting problem for the banks," presumably because the institutions will have to report a loss on the transactions. The Obama administration is now working on ideas to address that, which might entail a temporary suspension of certain accounting rules.
My gut feeling with the jobs report is that unless the the number is hugely abysmal, and I mean huge like 800K... it is inconsequential. It's a lagging indicator anyway. Market lately has been discounting all the bad news, wants to rally and is looking for any gunpowder it can find.
Yup, hes right. Do your homework and try to figure the most probable course and prepare. But keep a sharp eye and watch before you fully act. Congresses vote may yet end tonight in gridlock so you never know for sure. But if they do pass their bill, I am thinking it will take really really bad employment numbers to cool down the further upside. A stampede is itching to happen and its just waiting for the right spark. But with the bad economic mess, its only a short term up opertunity. We will be in an up down trading range for some time to come. A traders delight.