What Happened On Thu Dec 21 2017
Thursday saw the indexes try to move higher into the mid-morning trading. Once that intraday high was reached stocks moved sideways but mid-afternoon investors decided to take profits, as the markets appeared unable to move to new highs.
All 3 indexes managed to close positive, but none set new all-time intraday highs.
Closing Statistics for Thu Dec 21 2017
S&P 500 Index Close
The S&P index ended up 5.32 to 2684.57
Dow Jones Index Close
The Dow Jones ended up 55.64 to 24,782.29
NASDAQ Index Close
The NASDAQ closed up 4.40 to 6965.36
Stock Market Outlook – Review of Thu Dec 21 2017
Chart Comments At The Close:
On Thursday the day ended with a rather bearish to neutral candlestick. The Bollinger Bands however are continuing to climb which is bullish. All the major moving averages are also climbing. In general though the S&P has been trending sideways for the week which is evident just looking at the index chart.
Stock Market Outlook review of Thu Dec 21 2017
Stock Market Outlook: Technical Indicators:
Momentum: For momentum I use a 10 period when studying market direction. Momentum is positive but moving sideways.
MACD Histogram: For MACD Histogram, I am using the Fast Points set at 13, Slow Points at 26 and Smoothing at 9. MACD (Moving Averages Convergence / Divergence) issued a buy signal on Nov 28. The up signal was slightly weaker again on Thursday.
Ultimate Oscillator: The Ultimate Oscillator settings are: Period 1 is 5, Period 2 is 10, Period 3 is 15, Factor 1 is 4, Factor 2 is 2 and Factor 3 is 1. These are not the default settings but are the settings I use with the S&P 500 chart set for 1 to 3 months. The Ultimate Oscillator signal is slightly positive and moving sideways.
Slow Stochastic: For the Slow Stochastic I use the K period of 14 and D period of 3. The Slow Stochastic tries to predict the market direction further out than just one day. The Slow Stochastic has a down signal in place and is overbought.
Relative Strength Index: The relative strength index is set for a period of 5 which gives it 5 days of market movement to monitor. It often is the first indicator to show an overbought or oversold signal. The RSI signal turned sideways.
Rate of Change: 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. The rate of change signal is positive but turning lower.
Support Levels To Be Aware Of:
The 2600 is light support.
There is good support at the 2550 level which could assist in keeping the index up for December.
The S&P has light support at 2480. It also has light support at 2450 and good support at 2425. Below that there is some support at 2400, 2380, 2350. 2300 has the most support at present.
Stock Market Outlook for Tomorrow – Fri Dec 22 2017
For Friday Dec 22 the market is slightly weaker but primarily unchanged from Tuesday and Wednesday’s outlooks. Friday is the last trading day before Christmas and often volume is lower and the market tends to drift, usually slightly higher.
The technical indicators are not showing any large concerns. We could see some selling ahead of the Christmas Holiday Weekend, but overall the market looks steady.
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