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TODAY'S ACTION for Wednesday
Rick's Picks for Wednesday
The update to yesterday’s forecast caught the top of an entirely unremarkable session that was all noise and zero conviction. If and when this trading vehicle breaks out, look for confirmation of a 1097.50 rally target by way of a stall at 1074.50, its midpoint sibling. Alternatively, it would take a print at 1057.25 to turn the hourly chart bearish.
I’ll stick with the 1029.10 rally target flagged in yesterday’ s update, although a leisurely buy on a pullback to the 1012.70 midpoint associated with that number does not appear to be forthcoming. The print at 1029.10 would be a big deal, since, as noted here earlier, it would surpass a high at 1028.00 from July of 2008, refreshing the bullish impulse on the weekly chart. That high is no less relevant because it occurred in thin trading, by the way. To the contrary, it is all the more legitimate as an “external” peak because it was recorded by the December futures, not by a continuous contract.
There are no DJIA patterns that I particularly like, but the whimsical rule-breaker shown in the chart will do in a pinch. I’ve decided to legitimize it because of the oscillations around the 9290 midpoint pivot, and also because the most recent phase of bear-rally hysteria launched from a low not far beneath it. Anyway, the bottom line is a Hidden Pivot target at 10493. Although I wouldn’t try to go short the world at that price, I’m pretty confident about using it as the first number above 10000 where I might believe a top could form. One thing we can be nearly certain of is that 10000 itself will show no particular stopping power. If such an occurrence were even remotely possible, the stock market would cease to be the engaging carnival that it is. At 10493, however, Dow 11000 would be a glimmer in bulls’ eyes — and Kudlow’s wet dream.
With a rally target at 553.87, the little arse bandit hasn’t given us much in the way of Hidden Pivots to bottom-fish. Nevertheless, we can attempt it this morning if the stock pulls back to 497.19 in the first 15 minutes, bringing the December 550 calls (GOPLY) into bargain range. You should try to buy one of them for around 9.10, using a stop-loss at 496.99. With the stock in such a strong rally, it will probably be easier to try and enter with-the-trend on camouflage; so if you are familiar with the technique, you should try to buy the call on the first ABC rally from near 497.19. ______ UPDATE: We can return to this trade if and when GOOG shows a little more gumption, but for now, cancel the order.
Bears found themselves trapped on the opening yesterday for the umpteenth time since the bull market began, setting up a short-covering panic that turned what began as natural weakness in the broad averages into steroid-powered strength. DaBoyz simply pulled their bids at the bell, allowing the relative smattering of market orders that had built up over the weekend to have an inordinate effect. Into a bid-less vacuum, stocks dove the equivalent of 120 Dow points, exhausting pent-up orders in about 45 minutes. Once sellers were spent, it was child’s play for the smart money to effortlessly squeeze the futures back up to where they had begun the day — plus a little. Moreover, since there was but a shallow correction from the end-of-day highs, bears remained tactically on the ropes at the close.
For our part, since subscribers could have gotten short from as high as 1984.25 based on a Hidden Pivot rally target disseminated last week, some may have elected to swing for the fences by staying short. However, although the trade could have produced a profit of as much as $1200 per contact, the possibility that we were getting the jump on the Mother of All Tops was never more than remote. If you still hold a position, please let me know in the chat room and I will furnish further guidance. Strictly speaking, a short would have survived yesterday’s nasty dipsy doodle if it had been tied to an impulse leg-based stop-loss on the hourly chart.
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As GDXJ was working its way south from around $43, my bearish forecast called for a washout low at exactly 40.42, a Hidden Pivot support of great clarity. I’d suggested buying down there ‘aggressively’ and with an ‘absurdly’ tight stop-loss. This advice would have paid off handsomely for anyone who followed it, since the stock trampolined 64 cents yesterday off an actual low of 40.43, a penny from my target. Since a subscriber reported doing the trade as advised, I’m establishing a tracking position for the further guidance of all who may have gotten long. (He reported having bought 1000 shares off a 40.44 bid, but I’ll assume a more conservative 400 shares.) Accordingly, I’ll recommend exiting half the position on Friday’s opening if you haven’t done so already. We’ll impute any profits thereof to the cost basis of the 200 shares that will remain. _______ UPDATE (July 27, 9:48 p.m. ET): Exiting 200 shares on Friday’s 41.20 opening leaves us with a tracking position of 200 shares whose imputed cost basis is 39.66. Exit another 100 shares on today’s opening and tie the rest to an impulse leg-based stop-loss on the 15-minute chart. At the moment, that would imply bailing out on an uncorrected dive touching 41.73. ______ UPDATE (July 28, 11:46 a.m.): We got sleazed when DaBoyz opened the stock on the so-far low of the day, 42.40. The good news is that such shakedowns usually occur because the smart money is trying to buy the stock. In any event, I am tracking a 100-share position with an effective cost basis of 37.25. For the time being, let it run.
A subscriber reported success yesterday legging into the 1340/50/60 August 16 call butterfly that I’d advised. He did so 32 times at no cost, as suggested, but it took a $10 move in the stock between legs to get filled so advantageously. His maximum profit would be $32,000 with the stock trading at 1350 come August 16. Since he owns the position without cost, no loss is possible even if PCLN should all to zero or rally to $1000. We’ll do nothing further for now, but I’d suggest that those of you who were unable to buy the spread keep trying. We’ll shoot for a partial profit if the stock rallies $40-$50 in the next few weeks but otherwise do nothing further. I’ve reproduced a chart that shows why our expectation of a $120 rally from current levels, to a 1358.18 Hidden Pivot target, is not exactly farfetched. To that end, a pop above the 1270.59 midpoint pivot would be most encouraging. ______ UPDATE (July 28, 7:46 p.m. EDT): Yesterday another subscriber reported legging into ‘free’ butterfly spreads as suggested. Keep trying for at least one more day if you haven’t yet acquired a stake, since the spread will remain cheap as long as PCLN doesn’t blast off.
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I haven’t tracked currencies that closely, but because they tend to move very precisely to Hidden Pivot targets, traders should consider exploiting them whenever possible. Notice how EUR/USD has broken beneath a midpoint Hidden Pivot at 1.34841 after noodling around near that pivot for a few hours on Thursday. This suggests that it is bound for D=1.34197, at least. You can bottom-fish there with a stop-loss as tight as 3-4 ticks. Notice as well that there are two slightly higher possibilities for point ‘A’. The correction targets they yield lie, respectively, at 1.34114 and, worst case, 1.33992. I expect these numbers to work very precisely, so use them in whatever way suits you best. Note as well that a last-gasp rally to p=1.34738 after EUR/USD has fallen a bit would be short-able. _______ UPDATE (July 24, 5:35 p.m. EDT): Yesterday’s short-squeeze feint topped precisely at a midpoint Hidden Pivot (see inset, a new chart) that was originally support but which is now resistance. This price action confirms the pattern we’ve chosen as well as its ‘D’ target at 1.34197. At least one subscriber has confirmed getting short in the chat room. _______ UPDATE (July 27, 10:43 p.m.): Friday’s low occurred at 1.34206 — 0.00009 above our 1.34197 target. Shorts should have covered there, but if you were able to bottom-fish the low and catch a piece of the 144-tick rally that ensued, please let me know in the chat room and so that I can establish a tracking position for your further guidance.
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SIDE BETS for Wednesday
December Silver appears to be consolidating above a Hidden Pivot midpoint at 17.150, and a close above it today would likely clinch a push to its ‘D’ sibling, 17.775 (or 18.155 if any higher). Night owls could try bottom-fishing at 17.175 using a three-tick stop-loss.
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Of Green Shoots and Broken Windows
by Rick Ackerman on September 23, 2009 4:12 am GMT · 6 comments
Our memory stumbles whenever we try to recall any recent sightings of “green shoots” that would support the officially promoted illusion of a U.S. economy in recovery. Actually, this vision is more of a hallucination than an illusion, since one’s mind needs to venture beyond the pale of rationality, light years beyond the fringe of statistical evidence, to conjure up supposed signs of sustainable growth. Does “recovery” square with the reality that you, personally, see all around you? Indeed, whatever picture the government and the news media want us to see will be unconvincing at best, since a » Read the full article