Before the Open (Dec 11)

Posted on by Jason Leavitt

Good morning. Happy Friday.
The totally unpredictable character of the market continues. We got another sizable gap up yesterday, and why not end the week with one more? It’ll be the 9th within the 4-week consolidation period. Here’s the 15-min SPY chart.

The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up – there were a couple 1% winners. Europe is currently posting solid, across-the-board gains. And as hinted at above, the cash market here in the States is set to gap up again today.
Let’s not over-analyze things here. The large caps are out-performing the small caps, the banks are lagging and the dollar is showing signs of moving up. None of these are supportive of a big move up yet here we are in a steady uptrend. I wouldn’t fight it and at the same time I wouldn’t get lazy and assume it’s going to continue indefinitely. Sometimes you can get into positions and let the market do the work for you; other times you have to do the work. Right now the later is the case. Be ahead of the curve taking profits. More after the open.
headlines at Yahoo Finance
today’s upgrades/downgrades
this week’s Earnings Reports
this week’s Economic Numbers

0 thoughts on “Before the Open (Dec 11)”

  1. I have failed to understand why you are giving so much importance to gaps within trading range? Gaps will be more relevant when it is associated with either breaking out or breaking down from the range. Significant gaps will be (1) Breakout gap (2)Runway gap and (3) Exhaustion gap. If it is none of the above, then ignore it. Trading in a range requires lot of skill and patience. Otherwise it is better to sit out searching for opportunities elsewhere.

    1. I’m not giving importance to gaps other than to point out it makes trading harder and more risky. Often good set ups aren’t so good after a gap, and if you plan on holding overnight, your profit could double or disappear at the next open.
      And I agree with you…trading in a range requires a lot of skill, and there’s nothing wrong with sitting out until a trend develops.
      Jason

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