I hope you are enjoying your Weekend. My Saturday review is a bit late, as I send it to you on Sunday! Happy Mother’s Day to all those Moms out there!
NASDAQ- Second Week of May 2017
This past week we saw the NASDAQ add another 20 points to the overall index. This represented a rise of a third of a percent. This was the fourth week for the NASDAQ to add gains as it continues to push for new highs. With a gain of 20 points, the index has added 315 points in 4 weeks. This week we saw new all-time highs again but on Thursday the index fell quickly to 6080 before climbing back to the 6121 level by Friday’s close. Momentum was flat for much of Friday but overall, the index after 4 weeks or rises, is starting to look tired. The upcoming week may prove more difficult for the NASDAQ to continue the win streak but as long as the NASDAQ holds on above 6050 the S&P should be fine for the week.
NASDAQ second week of May 2017
SPX – Second Week of May 2017
The S&P on the other hand saw a small loss of 8 points for the week. We also saw the index continue to stay in a very tight trading range with 2380 on the downside and 2400 to the upside. Despite flirting with 2400 this week, the S&P was unable to stay above it. The second week of May was the first week in 3 weeks where there was a loss. Momentum by the end of the week was flat. While it is easy to be negative remember that the S&P is just a handful of points from making new highs. What it needs though is a catalyst to push it higher.
SPX – Second Week Of May 2017
May Is Often A Peak
Last Saturday I wrote how historically, the S&P has often peaked in May. With stock stuck sideways we need to keep a close watch. The next two weeks are the final “big” weeks for earnings. If the market has not moved higher by then, we could see weakness enter stocks as we head into June and the summer months.
Weekend Reading List
With another week of sideways action for the indexes, here are a few articles that are worth a read.
7 Rules To Fight Your Emotions When Investing
7 Rules To Fight Your Emotions When InvestingA lot of analysts are comparing the present market environment to that of 2015. There were some stunning days in 2015. One of those days was in January 2015, when out of the blue, or so it seemed, the Dow collapsed 200 points on the back of strong employment numbers. Many investors wrote me the day of that plunge, shocked by the severity of the drop and the number of stocks that were caught and shoved lower.
I wrote this article during that plunge to assist investors in understanding and learning how to control their emotions during a strong pullback. These 7 tips are as valuable today as they were in 2015. This strategy article is open to all investors.
9 Tips For Selling Call Options In A Bear Market
While I am certainly not expecting a bear market any time soon, there are a lot of analysts who believe 2017 will be the final year of the present bull market. Whether that is the case of not, selling call options even now when the market seems to be stuck sideways, can often pay out big returns.
This article looks at 9 Tips for selling call options in a bear market. The tips and ideas can be applied to any market that is in a correction or as we are at present, sitting sideways near all-time highs. This article is lengthy at 2000 words and is for members.
Learning To Trade For Superior Profits and Protection With Credit Spreads (Puts or Calls)
When markets sit sideways a lot of stocks also trend sideways. However the fear is always that the stock will fall or rise sharply. For investors holding naked puts or naked calls, they always worry that they will be caught quickly in a downturn or a sharp rally that will leave their naked short positions, puts or calls, in the money and at risk of loss.
This article from May 2014 may end up being quite appropriate if we find that stocks do peak this May and head lower into the summer months. This article looks at learning how to use credit put spreads and credit call spreads for superior profits and for strong protection for capital that is being risked. This article is also lengthy at 2900 words and is for members.
Building Your Stock Fortress For Profit and Safety – Watch List and Trading List
This finally strategy article for this weekend looks at building a watch list and a trading list and the differences between them. This is a timely article from September 2013 as the watch list is something I mention most days before markets open. However as you will find in this article, a watch list is actually different from a trading list and both of these terms can be used to assist when building a portfolio of stocks for profits.
This article is built around an investor’s questions on whether he is trading too many stocks at one time and how to better establish a portfolio of stocks for profits. The article is 2600 words in length and is for members.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend. I will have up articles on market breadth to start off the week, along with the week ahead outlook shortly.
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