The decision by the FOMC to leave rates unchanged was entirely in line with expectations and traders seem to be increasingly comfortable with the soft landing scenario. The S&P 500 continues to track the upper volatility band as it pushed forward another 0.4% to close at 1382.
Amongst the most liquid stocks that we scan daily almost ten percent have gained more than five percent during the last five trading sessions, but interestingly seven percent have declined by more than five percent during the same five sessions.
The longer time frame for the chart of the Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) reveals the year's action to date. Yesterday's close at 1726 is less than two percent below the January 11 close at 1758 and this multi-year high seems to be a viable target for the remainder of this week.
The Russell 2000 (^RUT) is within two percent of the all time high of 781.83 that was reached on May 5th.
The oil index (^XOI) has been resilient lately and has now extended its recovery back to the 1150 level. This level acted as resistance in late January and several individual charts in the sector have also reached important junctures.
TRADE OPPORTUNITIES/SETUPS FOR THURSDAY OCTOBER 26, 2006
The patterns identified below should be considered as indicative of eventual price direction in forthcoming trading sessions. None of these setups should be seen as specifically opportune for the current trading session.
After finding support at the 200-day EMA Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has now moved above all of the moving averages we track and looks ready to meet the next hurdle in the vicinity of $42.
The chart for Newmont Mining (NEM) shows signs of accumulation and there have been positive divergences during its recent basing pattern.
A triangle has formed on the Compuware (CPWR) chart and yesterday's action brought it below all three moving averages.
In the energy sector Conoco Phillips (COP) is showing positive divergences and moved above its 200-day EMA yesterday.
Clive Corcoran is the publisher of TradeWithForm.com, which provides daily analysis and commentary on the US stock market. He specializes in market neutral investing and and is currently working on a book about the benefits of trading with long/short strategies, which is scheduled for publication later this year.
Disclaimer
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