Wang’s Happy Trading

The market started with a bullish tone, gapping up. But, during the last 2 hours of trading, it gave back all of the day’s gains. Oil prices continued to rise, as crude rose above $100 per barrel today! The Dow closed down 10.99 points; SPX gave up 1.21 points; Nasdaq slid 15.60 points.

Here’s how the market looked at the close:

The techs were again on the weak side with SOX (semiconductors) losing 1.31%. Commondities and related sectors were strong: USO (oil) +3.79%; OIH (oil services) +1.64%; UNG (natural gas) +3.28%; GLD (gold) +2.73%; GDX (gold miners) +3.87%; XME (metals and mining) +5.3%; DBA (agricultural commodities) +2.27%. MOO (agriculture) was also strong, adding +3.54%, as POT, CF, and MOS all made new all-time highs today.

SPX

SPX gave up just 1.21 points to close at 1348.78. It went above the 30-day MA in the morning, but, could not hold on to the gains. It did manage to stay above the 20-day MA. The MACD flattened a bit.

Nasdaq

Nasdaq slid 15.60 points to close at 2306.20. It closed below its daily MAs, but stayed above the 2300 support level. The MACD also went lower.

This weekend, in my Market Forecast, I said,

“For the new week, I think the market is in a good position to rise above the daily MAs. But, like last week, I think we need to see the market open strongly; any weakness could increase the risk of testing the bottom again.”

The market did open strongly, but, the close today was terrible! This takes the market back into a dangerous position, especially for the techs, which barely closed above its support. The rest of this week is going to be very critical. Nasdaq tested 2300 today again. As mentioned before, the more time a support is tested, the weaker it gets. SPX is fairing better, as the commodities were strong. Its support level is at 1325. We’ll be watching these levels closely.

This morning, KALU reported soaring profits that more than doubled from the year before! Its shares went up +5% and traded another $1 higher in AH. After the market, CROX announced solid earnings, but, the outlook was below the consensus. Its shares were down more than 12% in AH. Although NTRI’s earnings beat the estimates, its 2008 guidance was below the expectations. Its shares tumbled 24% after the market. HPQ provided some positive news for the tech sectors, as its earnings beat the estimates. Its shares jumped almost +5% in AH.

Good night and HappyTrading! ™