$$ Price Support Zones

This morning we have dipped into the 1180s on the S&P and it's time to start looking at potential price support zones for this first leg down:

1.  50-day moving average = 1165

2.  38.2% Fib retrace from late August low to November high = 1155

3.  90% Gann turn from November high = 1146

     38.2% Fib retrace from early July low to November high = 1144

4.  50% Fib retrace from late August low to November high = 1133

     Old tops become bottoms = 1130

The deeper the support zone, the less likely we hit it before we bounce. 

$$ T Theory VO for Week of Nov 15-19

Last week's Volume Oscillator for reference

11/8 =    51

11/9 =    6

11/10 =  23

11/11 =  4

11/12 = -41

This week's VO

11/15 = -41
11/16 = -98
11/17 = -84
11/18 = -29
11/19 = -18

 
This post will be updated nightly throughout the week, so check back periodically for new information or you can subscribe to this post and receive updates by e-mail.

$$ Downtrend Intact

Today, we rose up and tested but could not break the down sloping resistance line connecting the tops on November 9, 10 and 11.  We also tested but could not break through the 61.8% retracement level (1207.31 S&P cash) from high on November 11 to the low on November 12.  Subsequently, we took out the 61.8% retracement level (1199.18) from the low on November 12 to the high of today.  

All of this is consistent with normal price movement in a downtrend, the diagnosis of which stays intact.

If you were not already short, you had a nice opportunity to get short mid-day today with a pretty tight stop at trend line and Fibonacci resistance. 

$$ Money Flow T Rules: Where to Start the T

$$ Money Flow T Rules: Where to Place the Center Post

$$ Alert: Channel Support Broken on November 12 Target End Date for T13

Today is November 12, the end of T13 according to my calculations, and we finally got an 30-minute candle that closed below 6-week channel support.  We've had several candle "tails" that dipped below the channel, but no candles that closed below the channel.

I took a short position this morning when we broke horizontal support at S&P 1204.3 cash with a stop at the 3-day (Fib 233 period) moving average on the 5-minute chart (then 1213, now 1211).

I was looking to see whether channel support would hold or break before deciding whether to dump the position before the weekend.  Now that channel support has broken, I've moved my stop to break even and continue to monitor. 

$$ AAII Bullish Sentiment Makes a New 45-Month High at 57.6%

Highest AAII bullish sentiment since January 2007. 

The 51.2% bullish reading on October 28 was the previous 2010 high.

By historical comparison, the end of T12 saw a similar bullish reading of 54.6% on October 11, 2007 (the day that marked the top).

Anyone else find it "ironic" that while the AAII bullish sentiment is making a 45-month high, ZeroHedge reported today that Insiders sold an all-time record amount of shares last week?

Hmmmmmmm.

$$ QE2 Starts Tomorrow

The Fed has released the POMO schedule for the next month.  It looks like the old POMO schedules, except on steroids.  

Under the old "sustain the balance sheet" treasury purchase plan which we saw from mid-August through early November, there were usually two POMOs per week for a total of $7B per week. The new POMO schedule combines the "sustain the balance sheet" purchases with the "increase the balance sheet" purchases. 

Now, we are due to get a POMO almost every trading day at an average of $25B per week.  Starting tomorrow.

It will be interesting to watch the comparative performance of stocks vs. commodities over the coming weeks.   Rising oil prices, for example, increase production costs while hurting the economically depressed consumer, squeezing corporate profits from both ends.

$$ Projecting the Next Rising Bottoms Pattern

Terry Laundry had a very interesting update today.  Here's the audio, and here's the chart.  Terry has noticed a time symmetry in the rising bottom "lows" of the Volume Oscillator.  

Rising bottoms is usually another term for bullish divergence.  The oscillator makes a spike low, then makes a higher low as price makes a lower low compared to its price on the day of the oscillator spike low.

I went back and put pen to paper.  Here's the information on the oscillator spike lows that began rising bottoms patterns in 2010:

Jan 22 =  -131

May 7 = -284 (73 trading days after Jan 22)

Aug 24 = -95 (75 trading days after May 7)

Projecting 74 trading days from August 24 produces an oscillator spike low target of December 8, after which the VO should make a rising bottoms pattern over the next week or two while price continues to fall.  This correlates nicely with the December nulled echo low concept we've discussed before.

If this forecast is accurate, how does this square with the end of T13 on or about November 12?  I'm sure Terry has his own ideas.  Here's a potential explanation that occurs to me:  

We get an "ABC" style move where A corrects off the ~1229 S&P Fibonacci level down to perhaps to the mid-channel at ~1155, then B retraces perhaps 61.8% of A back to say ~1200, then C takes the nose dive into the VO spike low on or about December 8, resulting in price perhaps at the lower envelope at ~1085.

$$ T Theory VO for Week of Nov. 8-12

Last week's Volume Oscillator for reference

11/1 = -21

11/2 = -1

11/3 =  10

11/4 =  61

11/5 =  69

This week's VO
11/8 =    51

11/9 =    6

11/10 =  23

11/11 =  4

11/12 = -41

This post will be updated nightly throughout the week, so check back periodically for new information or you can subscribe to this post and receive updates by e-mail.

$$ 1228.74

The 61.8% Fib retracement of the move from the October 2007 high to the March 2009 low on the S&P. is 1228.74  On Friday, we reached 1227.08 before closing at 1225.85.

We are entering the second week of November.  If we get a top this week as forecast, we should begin a topping process where we move sideways several days with 1229 serving as significant resistance before turning over.  If we carve through 1229 with ease, then look for a blow off top that fails spectacularly.

A word of warning: the Dow and Nasdaq have already left this 61.8% level behind.  In the case of the Dow, 61.8% was 11246 (retrace from Oct '07 to March '09).  The Dow's April high was 11258, so 61.8% worked as resistance for the Dow in April.  But the Dow was up to 11444 on Friday.

$$ Make it Viral

It's Time: Prohibiting Anonymous Comments.

There have been some very helpful and insightful comments from anonymous posters on this blog.  But as this blog has grown, it appears now that the anonymous posts are getting out of hand.

So if you have been commenting anonymously and want to continue to contribute comments to this blog in the future, please create a Google or Blogger account or some other acceptable profile.  It's simple and free to do.  That way, I can keep track of who is saying what, and better moderate the comments.

Thanks for your cooperation.

$$ Volume Oscillator T

Thanks to JT for pointing out a Volume Oscillator T I had overlooked.  Here's how the VO looked in early September.  If we start a T on June 15 (VO = 134) and put a center post at the end of the August 24-26 rising bottoms pattern (VO = -95, -88), I project a November 8 end date.  JT notes that VO T targets can be a bit early compared to the actual turn. 

This VO T lines up with other forecasts for a top in the second week of November, and explains why we appear to be going to new highs on the VO -- we are setting up the left side of the next (presumably bearish) T.

$$ T Theory Confidence Index

I don't know if you remember, but back in May I sent Terry Laundry some charts showing divergence between the S&P and his T Theory Confidence Indicator (FAGIX:VUSTX) at every market major turn in the last 10 years.

With today's close on the S&P eclipsing April's high close, we are back in divergence mode on the Confidence Index:

For the record, in early 2009 we were in divergence mode on the T Theory Confidence Index for ten trading days before the reversal. 

$$ Where We Are

Achal asked a good question:

"Do you have an update on your initial scenario (peak on Oct 27th, and a final peak later in Nov)?"

As you know, on October 13 I projected a cycle top "on or about ~October 27."  We got an intraday top on October 25 at 1196.14 at the top of the price channel.  Off that October 25 peak, instead of starting a correction all we got was a trip to the bottom of the price channel at 1172.  

I was surprised it was not more than that, but once the channel held it was clear we were not going to get a change in trend.  The October 25 peak held until the day QE2 was announced, so I don't view that forecast of a cycle top as a complete failure. 

Today, the S&P reached the 1220 target I mentioned yesterday in historic fashion:  the S&P closed higher than its 3 standard deviation upper Bollinger Band for the first time in at least 10 years.  

In September of 2007, the S&P pinned its 3SD upper BB intraday.  What happened next was 6 days of sideways action before price rose into its October peak at the end of T12.  Likewise, in June of 2005 the S&P pinned its 3SD upper BB intraday.  It traded sideways for three days after until correcting hard.

Second, I would note that it took 51 trading sessions from the low close on Feb 8, 2010 to establish the high close on April 23, 2010.  Currently, we are at 50 trading sessions since the low close on August 26.  

As you can see from the chart above, we threw above the price channel today.  While I expect us to take a breather tomorrow, we may well get a parabolic blow off top here (as discussed below).  Note that the inverse Head & Shoulders pattern suggests a potential target at 1250:

Likewise, here are the next Gann resistance levels to watch:

1240 is 240 degrees from the early July 1011 low

1250 is 120 degrees from the early August 1129 top

On the other hand, note the bearish divergence on the Money Flow Index.  One way or the other, this condition usually does not last long.  Price and MFI will start to mirror each other.  

On the weekly chart, we can see that we are in a steep bearish ascending wedge much like we were this Spring:

There is also some bearish divergence on the weekly RSI.  We did, however, break through the 200 week moving average.  The 200MA had served as resistance in April. 

The T Theory Volume Oscillator shot up to 61 today.  This matches the previous peak reading on October 13.  So we have readings of 

June 15 = 134

July 26 = 124

Sept 10 = 100

Oct 13 = 61

Nov 4 = 61  

We certainly blew through the extension of the green line from 100 to 61 that was dropping at 1.7 points per day.  But Terry is the expert at interpreting the VO.  I'll leave it to him to determine whether we started a new VO T today or whether we can connect the 61s and keep that green line intact.

To answer Achal's question, recent price action while historically bullish is not inconsistent with my forecast of an end to T13 within several days either way of November 12.  This rally is long in the tooth, overcooked, and due for a serious correction.  Can I be wrong?  Certainly.

One of the things I will be watching for is the establishment of a third, steeper trend line for this move.  Parabolic moves usually come in three waves.  As you can see from the chart below, the green trend line is the shallower than the black trend line.  I anticipate that after taking a little breather, we are going to set an even steeper trend line (for example the red dotted line). 

There are usually excellent shorting opportunities available when the steepest of the three trend lines in a parabolic move fails.  But as always, manage your risk.

$$ Response to QE2 from BOE & ECB . . . Crickets

This morning, the Bank of England left rates alone and decided not to engage in further QE.  The European Central Bank left its minimum bid rate alone.  As a result, you can expect the dollar index to suffer.  

As I noted six weeks ago, the dollar was carving a head and shoulders pattern that suggested a target of 71.  We may get there. 

$$ Dow Theory Confirmation

The Dow closed at 11215 today, 10 points higher than its high close in April.  In concert with yesterday's Dow Transport breakout close, we have a Dow Theory confirmation.  This could result in additional buying on a technical basis.

The Dow has yet to take out its April intra-day high of 11258. 

The S&P 500 broke above its recent October 25 intra-day high of 1196.14 at 1198.30 today, and closed at 1197.96, some 19 points shy of its April high close and 21 points shy of its April intra-day high. 

Should the uptrend continue, resistance zones on the S&P are anticipated at 1203 (Fib), 1220 (old resistance), and 1240-1250 (Gann).

$$ GDP Price Deflator

Karl Denninger at Market Ticker has hit on something that strikes a chord with me. 

In an address a couple of weeks ago, Bernanke said the Fed had a mandate to maintain inflation at 1-2% per year.  This was news to me.  I thought they had a mandate to keep inflation under control, not to make sure it always existed.  Inflation, of course, is a silent tax on the people.

There are all sorts of measures of inflation.  According to Denninger, Bernanke has indicated in the past that one of his key inflation indicators is the GDP deflator.  Every quarter, nominal GDP is reported.  Then the BEA deflates nominal GDP to get "real" or inflation-adjusted GDP.  

I researched GDP reports through the last several years, and here's a history of the GDP deflator:

2003 = 2.1%

2004 = 2.8 to 2.9%

2005 = 3.0 to 3.3%

2006 = 3.2%

2007 = 2.7 to 2.9%

2008 = 2.2%

2009 = 0.9%

Note the deflator ramped up in 2004-06 as the Fed blew bubbles, and declined steadily into 2009.  But every year except 2009 was above 2%.  In other words, above the inflation mandate Bernanke feels he must maintain. Is it any wonder we got QE1 in 2009?

Compare the annualized GDP deflator reported by the BEA during first three quarters of 2010:

Q1 = 1.1

Q2 = 2.0

Q3 = 2.2

First, it's growing fast.  Second, it's at or above 2% for the last two quarters.  Which makes today's FOMC statement troubling:

"Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster . . . price stability. . . [M]easures of underlying inflation are somewhat low, relative to levels that the Committee judges to be consistent, over the longer run, with its mandate.  Although the Committee anticipates a gradual return to higher levels of resource utilization in a context of price stability, progress toward its objective [of 1-2% inflation] has been disappointingly slow."

Huh?

I believe this is one of the reasons why you had Bill Gross of PIMCO on CNBC today warning of the inflationary risks inherent in QE2. 

And as Warren Buffett wrote in his 1977 Fortune article called "How Inflation Swindles the Equity Investor," when stocks are properly thought of as equity-bonds, then stocks are not a hedge against inflation over the long term. 

$$ QE2

In addition to the POMO schedule that everyone knows about, the Fed announced it will buy $75B in long term treasuries per month for 8 months, totaling $600B in QE2. 

The S&P rallied 9 points in about 6 minutes on the announcement, from 1187 to 1196.  Then the S&P sold off 13 points down to 1183 (low of the day) in the next 12 minutes before rebounding to 1189.