For the final day of October, Tue Oct 31 2017, investors returned their focus to earnings as Mondelez and Kellogg saw their stocks rise 5.4% and 6.2% respectively following strong earnings and upbeat outlooks.
Intel Stock surged 2.52% to a new 52 week high of $45.80 on rumors of Apple using Intel chips instead of Qualcomm. Qualcomm lost 6.68% on the same rumor.
S&P 500 Index Close
The S&P index ended up 2.43 to 2575.26
Dow Jones Index Close
The Dow Jones ended up 28.50 to 23,377.24
NASDAQ Index Close
The NASDAQ closed up 28.71 to 6727.67
Stock Market Outlook
Stock Market Outlook review of Tue Oct 31 2017
Chart Comments At The Close:
The S&P on Tuesday moved more sideways than up or down and by the close has added a couple of points to the index. As you can see though, the past 3 trading days have been sideways and the closing candlestick on Tuesday was once again bearish.
The Upper Bollinger Band is still falling and the Lower Bollinger Band is rising, as the S&P is entering a Bollinger Bands Squeeze which could send the market either up or down. My guess is up.
All the major moving averages are continuing to rise which is bullish.
Stock Market Outlook: Technical Indicators:
Momentum: For momentum I use a 10 period when studying market direction. Momentum is unchanged.
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 sell signal on Oct 24. The sell signal was weak and unchanged for Wednesday. It could become a buy signal if the S&P can move higher than a couple of points. It could just as easily grow stronger to the downside if the market does not start to climb shortly.
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 is positive, and unchanged.
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 still has an up signal in place.
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 is unchanged.
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 continuing to fall.
Support Levels To Be Aware Of:
The S&P has light support at 2480. It has light support at 2450 and good support at 2425. There is also light support at 2400, 2380, 2350 and 2300.
Stock Market Outlook for Tomorrow – Wed Nov 1 2017
Technically he S&P remains in a holding pattern. There is one strong up signal from the Slow Stochastic, a down signal from MACD, three unchanged signals and one positive signal that is falling.
This is perfect for a sideways pattern to continue into Wednesday. At the same time however, even though there is weakness in the technical indicators, the outlook is still higher for the S&P. It just needs a catalyst to push it higher. Investors are holding back with their orders to buy while at the same time they are also not selling. The outlook has become one of wait and see. That should provide another up day on Wednesday, but again, just as we saw with Tuesday’s outlook, even a slightly negative close would not signal that the current leg of the rally is over.
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