Prior Trading Day Summary
On Thu Apr 16 2026 both the SPX and NASDAQ continued their advances and made new highs. Signals though are advising that stocks may dip on Friday and a lower close is possible.
The SPX rose 18 points to end the day at 7041. Volume slipped to 5.2 billion shares traded. There were 79 new 52 week highs and just 11 new lows. Up volume was 52% and 49% of stocks were advancing by the close.
The NASDAQ rose 86 points to close at 24,102. Volume fell to 10.2 billion. 58% of all volume was being traded higher and 51% of all stocks were rising.
Thursday was the poorest showing of the recent rally. Let’s review the closing technical indicators for Thu Apr 16 2026, to see what they predict for Fri Apr 17 2026.
Stock Market Outlook: SPX Closing Chart For Thu Apr 16 2026
The index closed above all major moving averages and above the Upper Bollinger Band. This is bullish.
The closing candlestick is bullish for Friday but with a long shadow, it is signaling Friday could see deep dips and a possible lower close.
The 21 day moving average is rising sharply and closed at 6662. This is bullish
The 50 day moving average is rising and closed at 6764. This is bullish.
The 100 day moving average is rising and closed at 6750. This is bullish.
The 200 day moving average is rising and closed at 6608. This is bullish.
The Lower Bollinger Band is falling and widening which is bullish. The Upper Bollinger Band is rising which is bullish. The Bollinger Bands are widening which signals that a powerful and high momentum rally is underway. This signals that a strong breakout by the bulls is underway.
The SPX chart is bullish with a couple is signs that Friday could end flat to lower.
SPX Stock Market Outlook review of Thu Apr 16 2026
Stock Market Outlook: Technical Indicators Review
Momentum: Momentum is falling and positive. This is bearish.
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MACD Histogram: MACD (Moving Averages Convergence / Divergence) issued an up signal on Fri Apr 7 2026. On Thu Apr 16 2026 the up signal gained more strength.
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Ultimate Oscillator: The Ultimate Oscillator is falling and overbought. This is bearish.
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Slow Stochastic: The Slow Stochastic has an up signal in place which is bullish. It is overbought and the up signal may turn to a down signal today.
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Relative Strength Index: The RSI signal is rising and is overbought. This is bullish.
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| Rate of Change: The rate of change is falling which signals today will end lower. Settings: Rate Of Change is set for a 21 period. This indicator looks back 21 days and compares price action from the past to the present. With the Rate Of Change, prices are rising when signals are positive. Conversely, prices are falling when signals are negative. As an advance rises, the Rate Of Change signal should also rise higher, otherwise the rally is suspect. A decline should see the Rate Of Change fall into negative signals. The more negative the signals the stronger the decline. |
Stock Market Outlook: Support and Resistance Levels |
| 7050 is resistance |
| 7000 is resistance |
| 6950 is resistance |
| 6900 is resistance |
| 6850 is resistance |
| 6830 is resistance |
| 6800 is resistance |
| 6780 is resistance |
| 6750 is resistance |
| 6735 is resistance |
| 6700 is support |
| 6675 is support |
| 6650 is support |
| 6625 is support |
| 6600 is support |
| 6585 is support |
| 6550 is support |
| 6500 is support |
Stock Market Outlook for Fri Apr 17 2026
For Friday the outlook has not changed. Stocks are overbought and the indexes are at the point where deep dips are more likely and a lower close.
Potential Economic and Political Market Moving Events
Monday:
10:00 existing home sales were worse than estimated as they came in at 3.98 million
Tuesday:
6:00 NFIB Optimism index for March came in lower than estimated at 95.8
8:30 Producer price index is estimated to rise less than expected.
8:30 Core PPI icame in at 0.2% which was below estimates of 0.4%
8:30 PPI year-over-year came in well below estimates at 4%/
8:30 Core PPI year-over-year is estimated at 3.5% which was just below the average.
Wednesday:
8:30 Import price index rose just 0.8% well below estimates of 2.4%
8:30 Empire State manufacturing survey jumped to 11.0 well above estimates of -0.5%
10:00 Home builder confidence fell lower than estimates to 34
Thursday:
8:30 Weekly Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims were lower than estimated at 207,000
8:30 Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey was far higher than estimated coming in at 26.7 well above estimates of 12.0
9:15 Industrial production cme in flat at -0.0%
9:15 Capacity utilization cam in as estimated at 76.3%
Friday:
No reports are released