mcm daily market update 23.Jul.21

ST trend: up (with potential ST pullback)

Yesterday we were noting that the trend was still up, as sellers were inefficient, but were warning that a pullback could be coming to test ML as FGSI was showing an unconfirmed high. That is exactly what happened. The unconfirmed high on FGSI led to a pullback into a ML test. The test held quite comfortably (ES never touched ML, while YM overlapped it briefly) and from there the buyers launched another push higher.

The o/n saw continued upward pressure as buyers kept making higher highs, while sellers were inefficient on pullbacks. The main achievement of the buyers is that now they finally broke the initial bearish EE level on IGSI. They also broke the closer unconfirmed highs on FGSI and turned them into confirmed highs. Price is also very close to the ATH, so the trend is clearly up. For the immediate term, we do have FGSI at extreme optimism, so a pullback could happed anytime from here. However, it depends how price will act on the TT lines (momentum, danny and 400bar MA). As usual, if danny gets broken, then a trip to 400bar MA below would be expected. If that also gets broken, then another ML test might be in the cards. As long as these lines hold, we could continue higher with only shallow pullbacks, depending on how FGSI shapes up. IGSI has a lot of room fwiw.

mcm daily market update 21.Jul.21

ST trend: up (with potential topping pattern)

Yesterday we were noting that the trend was neutral as both sides were showing inefficiency via FGSI. Because of the set up on all ST GSIs (FGSI, IGSI and MGSI) we were mentioning that a bigger low might have formed at Monday's lows and that yesterday's action would be key for the intermediate term. ML being the main line in the sand for the trend. The buyers did everything right after the cash session open. They broke above the opening BE and then simply sliced through ML and never looked back. The breakout was very strong and considering the bigger low potential from Monday, the buyers are now back in control.

The o/n continued to show the buyers are regaining strength. It continued to make new highs and most importanly - the IGSI "reloaded" quickly on a small retrace, triggering a very large bullish EE. With ML below price and continuing to be drawn higher and higher, the sellers need to be careful here and wait for a clear set up before trying to jump back in. We do have FGSI at extreme optimism, so an immediate term pullback could occur from here. Momentum line and danny will be the clues if that will occur, as they would need to give way. So far danny has held support very strongly, so it won't be an easy feat for sellers to pull off. If danny gets broken, an ML test would be expected. That would be the inflection point. There is still a slim chance this face ripping rally off Monday's lows is just a dead cat bounce, but it is getting very slim. Only a break below ML would tilt the odds back towards that bearish scenario. Buyers need to defend ML at all costs, while a green day today would be ideal (follow through to yesterday).

mcm daily market update 20.Jul.21

ST trend: neutral

Yesterday we were noting that the ST trend was down, with a potential bottoming attempt (as FGSI was showing an unconfirmed low). We did warn that the bottoming attempt was only a potential as if sellers continued to push, that could have been broken. Sellers did just that and continued to break lower almost the entire cash session, until the last 30min when buyers stepped in and staged a larger bounce. The follow through on the downside after Friday's bearish session is a serious warning a larger shift is at hand (from full-on bullish to a bearish stance), so longs do need to be careful here.

The o/n continued higher building on the late bounce from yesterday and a bigger dip showed sellers were inefficient, so the trend went back to neutral. Boths sides are inefficient as shown by FGSI, so the ST trend is up for grabs. A ST bounce after the sell off from the last 2 days should be expected. The only question is if it's just a dead-cat bounce or are buyers ready to step back in with authority. We do have the potential for a big low at yesterday's lows with IGSI and FGSI showing that low to be unconfirmed and MGSI touching extreme pessimism there. So there is a possibility that the correction is done and market runs back higher. However buyers need to prove themselves now, as the last 2 days were showing a change in character with the bounces failing. ML is, as usual, our main line in the sand for the trend. It was decisively broken on Friday and yesterday there was only a feble attempt in the o/n to touch it. So the ST trend was clearly pointing lower. Now this bounce took price right to ML and it's just whipsawing around it. That means the current area is an inflection point. Depending on which side of ML the price will settle will dictate the near term trend. The bullish and bearish EE levels on FGSI will be additional confirmation after that.

mcm daily market update 9.Jul.21

ST trend: up

Yesterday we were noting that the trend was down, but with a potential bottoming attempt as FGSI was showing unconfirmed lows. Turns out the actual low was a few points away on yet another unconfirmed low on FGSI, then market bounced again very strongly from there. However, differently than in the other situations in the last 2 weeks, the bounce was stopped by ML which held as resistance.

The o/n came to the buyers' rescue and after a sideways action both up and down, there was yet another strong bounce which did manage to break back above ML. Now, as I have been repeating like a broken record - ML is key for the near term trend. Buyers winning back ML is a strong statement they are trying to get back in the lead. FGSI is showing an unconfirmed high at the o/n high and market pulled back from there to test ML once more. That triggered a pretty large bullish EE, so now this is where it gets decided. ML is the big inflection point going into today. If buyers manage to defend it and bounce, then the trend is back to up and we could be getting back to the usual up grind. Especially if they can turn the unconfirmed high on FGSI to a confirmed high. However, if price breaks back below ML then that would signal more bearishness ahead.

mcm daily market update 8.Jul.21

ST trend: down (with potential bottoming attempt)

Yesterday we were noting that the ST trend was up, as buyers stepped up and held a bullish EE set up on FGSI and broke a bearish EE one. We did get a bigger head-fake drop after the cash market open, which broke below ML, but that break was again bought right back up. Price broke a BE which triggered right below ML and danny, so once that triple resistance couldn't contain the bounce it was clear that buyers had regained control. Market proceeded then to make new ATHs after that.

The o/n today brings a nasty surprise for buyers. The new ATHs were sold strongly. The market dripped initially back towards another ML test and FGSI showed big bullish EE vs yesterday's low. However what happened next on FGSI was key. Buyers were very inefficient on the bounce off ML and FGSI moved back above the center line with almost no price movement. That was the key signal that something is wrong with the up trend and once ML was broken down there was no looking back. Danny capped price action the whole way down and even if FGSI bottomed in the extreme pessimism zone the market continued to move lower. Right now we do have extreme pessimism on IGSI and FGSI, with FGSI showing an unconfirmed low. So that puts a potential bottoming attempt on the table. However as long as danny (and momentum line) keep capping price action, the market can continue to make new lows. Danny is key in the ST for an attempted bounce.

mcm daily market update 7.Jul.21

ST trend: up

Yesterday we were noting that the ST trend was neutral, but the set up was there for a bigger correction. ML did give way and we did get a decent decline, until the market found a bottom at an unconfirmed low on FGSI (alerted in real time in the mcm chat room). Buyers stepped in strongly there and after breaking an important emotional area with 3 exhaustions (2 BEs and 1 SE), they pushed price directly to ML and broke back above.

The o/n saw a bit of consolidation after the big bounce off yesterday's LOD and for a while the trend was neutral, as both sides were inefficient via FGSI and we had both bullish and bearish EE setting up. However it was again buyers who took the lead, they held the bullish EE and broke through the initial bearish EE level. ML continues to move higher (pushed by price) and is the key for the trend. As long as buyers can keep price above, the trend is (back to) up. Losing ML would be a serious warning that we might get another attempt at more downside, but at the moment yesterday's LOD looks like the end of the near-term correction.

mcm daily market update 06.Jul.21

ST trend: neutral (with bigger correction potential)

On Friday we were noting that the trend was still up, as ML continued to hold and FGSI continued to paint confirmed highs. That pointed to the usual upward bias going into a long w/e will play out and indeed it has, with the market finishing with a new ATH.

However the up squeeze from the 2nd part of the cash session triggered a bearish pattern in FGSI, namely a 45 degree angle divergence. When these large divergences between FGSI and price happen, they are normally bearish as they indicate determined selling so basically distribution as the price goes up. This type of pattern was followed text-book until now, as price retested the divergent high and was rejected there. Now buyers look inefficient via FGSI. We also have additional warning signs. On the retest of the high (which actually made a minor new high), we had large unconfirmed highs on IGSI, MGSI and also FGSI showed an unconfirmed local high. All pointing to the POTENTIAL for a bigger turn. ML is being tested now and as usual, it is the key for the near term trend. If sellers break below ML, that would be a big warning that the 45 degree angle divergence on FGSI is indeed playing out (pointing to a larger decline). Buyers would need to best the o/n highs and run a bit further to cancel the bearish potential. Right now this looks like lower odds though.

Lessons learned part 4

The past week (21-25th of June) we had a very strong week and a powerful melt-up off Sunday's OPEX lows. Those lows were announced on Monday in the am on the daily blog post with the mention "This set up has the potential to mark an important bottom and trigger an explosive bounce". That came to pass and the market relentlessly pushed higher, with only small pullbacks. Because the short term GSIs (Globex Sentiment Indexes) caught that potential, it is time to look more closely at these kinds of set-ups and see what provides confirmation or non-confirmation.

First, let's look at FGSI, which because it's the fastest will usually trigger the set-up first and will also be the 1st one to confirm. The chart below was the one posted on the blog on Monday, June 21st. As we can see we had a large unconfirmed low, the market rallied right into a bearish EE (excess energy) level, hesitated briefly, then broke through it. That was the confirmation that the unconfirmed low would hold and it is a bullish breakout from there (roughly 4154ish).

Now let's have a closer look at an earlier set-up of an unconfirmed low, which failed, namely the Friday morning low. We had a pretty large unconfirmed low (although the set up was not as ideal as the one from Sunday, as the lows were too close to each other, not to mention the IGSI and MGSI set-ups). And then the ensuing bounce was showing that buyers are inefficient, as price barely bounced 20 points off the lows, but FGSI was already above the centerline and triggered a very large class B bearish EE vs the last time FGSI was in that area. Price then whipsawed from that area back towards the unconfirmed low where buyers made another attempt to stick save that low (where the green arrow points). The bounce triggered a bearish EE which held and then the breakdown happened.

So the main lesson here is - whenever we have an unconfirmed low (or high), that shows the potential for a larger turn. But the key to that potential playing out is how price acts when we have an EE set-up after that. Breakout/down of that EE set up is the confirmation that a larger turn is playing out.

mcm daily market update 18.Jun.21

ST trend: down, with potential bounce attempt

Yesterday we were noting that the ST trend was neutral as both sides were inefficient, as shown by FGSI (something which is happening quite often in the o/n as of late). The market had a big pop prior to the open, then a few whipsaws before finally dropping hard to retest Wednesday's lows before rallying hard into the close and retest the highs of the day.

The o/n now saw the market moving sideways and then starting to drift lower. FGSI is showing extreme pessimism already, so a bounce might be attempted, but it it also showing confirmed local lows, so the decline might extend. We have a bullish EE lvl vs yesterday's LOD, so that levels becomes important if we do in fact accelerate lower. The biggest problem for buyers is the fact that they lost ML, then tried to win it back but failed.

mcm daily market update 16.Jun.21

ST trend: neutral

Yesterday we were noting that the trend was up, but with a potential reversal pattern, as all GSIs were showing unconfirmed highs at the o/n high. That did prove to be a bad omen for buyers and the market proceeded to then retrace the entire rocket launch move from Monday's last 2 hours cash session.

At LOD we did get an unconfirmed low on FGSI and market tried to bounce, but this time the bounce failed to get above ML, which is a clear indication that the buyers are losing control of the ST trend.

In the o/n session we had only a sideways movement with whipsaws in a tight range. FGSI is showing that both buyers and sellers are inefficient, as small price movements trigger big swings in FGSI. One thing that gives the sellers an edge is ML and the fact that it rejected price action yesterday but also in the o/n. ML continues to be the key for the near term trend, so if buyers want to stage a bigger bounce from here they must break above ML. Today is the conculsion of the FED 2 day meeting, so prices might stall and continue to sideways chop from the o/n until after the FED announcement and then stage a larger move.