Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The midpoint pivot at 101.28 that I'd flagged yesterday in the chat room as a place to try bottom-fishing appears to have served subscribers well. Several subscribers have reported getting long at that price ahead of the so-far 88-cent rally that has ensued. This morning's low never exceeded the pivot by more than eight cents, and the rally since could have produced a gain of as much as $800 per contract for anyone who was aboard.  Because of the fills that were reported, I'm going to establish a tracking position for your further guidance. Assuming four contracts were entered initially, you should take partial profits on half now if you haven't done so already. For tracking purposes, I'll assume an exit at 101.80, a dime below where the futures are currently trading. I'll further suggest using an impulse leg-based stop on the 30-minute chart. This implies that a swoon now to 101.19 would take one out of the position. The stop-out price will rise to 101.45 if the current bar's low, 101.72, becomes a point C low (where A=101.46 at 9:00 a.m. ET). _______ UPDATE (10:40 a.m. ET):  A very nasty downdraft has erased most of the rally in a single bar on the 30-minute chart.  Stick to the 101.19 stop for now, but use a breakeven stop if you held only one contract. _______ UPDATE (April 24, 1:06 a.m.): There were four swings in excess of 70 cents yesterday -- not quite violent enough to dislodge us from our position.  For tracking purposes I am assuming that two contracts remain, with a profit adjusted cost basis of 100.48.  Exit one of the contracts now for around 101.70 (or catch-as-catch-can when you wake up, assuming you slept on the position); then, use an impulse leg-based stop-loss on the hourly chart

I've set a relatively modest benchmark for bulls today in June Gold, but my hunch is that they are going to let us down. Elsewhere in the touts section is a suggestion for trading the E-Mini S&P on days when 'everyone' correctly expects them to move higher. They're just inches from new record highs, incidentally, but if and when they get there, it's possible that no one will much notice. Or care.

The leaps have been opportunistic, powered by short-covering whenever the mood is right. Most of the time these days, however, the futures are taking mincing steps in both directions, creating a challenging environment for profit-seekers in the middle hours of the day. One thing to notice, however, is that the rallies, particularly in this vehicle, and whether weak or powerful, seldom proceed from the first signaled entry point.  Instead, the 'money trades' launch from a second or third point-C lows of ABCD patterns, and they do it with such repetitious reliability that one can practically discard the first signaled entry opportunities routinely. This is the kind of price action we might expect when 'everyone' thinks that stocks will move higher on a given day. 'Everyone' can be right, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can make money easily. For your interest today, I am including a chart that shows a modest rally target at 1895.00. I'm guessing it will be easier to get short there with a tight stop than to get long for the ride to it. However, because the futures will be in record territory at that point, we shouldn't want to impede their progress too aggressively. _______ UPDATE (April 24, 12:50 a.m.):  With yesterday's rally -- nearly all of it achieved in a single, short-squeeze bar toward the end of the session -- bears are now trapped between the all-time high and a lesser peak just below it. Their acute, growing discomfort will likely be tradable, but not by way of any specific guidance I am able to provide nine hours before the opening bell.  New record highs are coming, but for most traders, the process of getting there promises to be more pain than pleasure.

Although it was mildly encouraging yesterday that a minor bearish pattern failed by a few dollars to reach its target, I'm going to stick with the 1263.10 target nonetheless. Hidden Pivots aside, you need only look at the chart (inset) to appreciate the mountainous supply of shares that has been weighing gold down. It's nothing that a rally today to 1302.60 wouldn't ameliorate, but barring that, we should expect to see bears in control for the time being.  Keep in mind that the cause of the rally was the running of stops placed just beneath the key low at 1277.40 recorded in late March. Considering how many hopeful bulls must have gotten shaken loose down there, the relatively feeble, $7 rally so far ranks as a disappointment. _______ UPDATE (April 24, 12:55 a.m. ET):  Given Wednesday's turgid price action, the analysis above can stand without change.