Midday Market Commentary For 12-14-2012
By noon the general direction of the markets was down in a kinda melting sort of thing. Nothing to get excited about as the charts will show you we are smack dab in the middle of things. They could go either way and investors are sitting on the fence waiting for others to make the decision for them. The HFC algo computers are having a ball jerking prices up and down; fleecing the ‘sheeples’ as they go.
By 12:30 markets remained mixed, flat and directionless.
The RRR** has been narrow at the opening bell for the past several months and continued the trend into the midday session. This continuing trend makes predictions of session movements nearly impossible making trading futile and unprofitable.
As long as market volume remains light or the trading range is narrow, one can expect successful trading to remain elusive. The RRR** has been wider on volatile sessions lately and is expected to become more so as the year ends, but a lot of guessing still remains. Correctly ‘guessing’, of course, is the tricky part of the successful trading equation. Any trades today will probably end up on the meager side of profitability if you are lucky as most trades have been less than optimal during this past year.
I also have issues with some pundits writing almost every day that there are setups for day trading. This may be true enough, but the trading range is so narrow that way too money has to be put on the table just to get back meager gains. Do not fall into the trap of money burning a hole in your pocket, sit tight better days are coming. Watch for increasing volume to signal improved trading.
Swing trading is also at your own risk for all the reasons mentioned above. Because the market is at a crossroads of sorts, I would prefer to sit on my hands as the markets are currently untradable. Guessing where the market is going to be tomorrow or next week, at this time anyway, can be a foolish and costly endeavor.
The DOW at 12:30 is at 13164 down 6.39 or -0.05%.
The SP500 is at 1416 down 2.65 or -0.18%.
SPY is at 142.41 down 0.22 or -0.16%.
The $RUT is at 826.75 up 2.55 or 0.31%.
NASDAQ is at 2982 down 10 or -0.32%.
The longer trend is up, the past months trend is bullish and the current bias is down.
WTI oil was down today and is currently trading up at 86.62 trading between 86.90 and 86.05 and the bias is neutral.
Brent crude was up today and is currently trading up at 109.87 trading between 107.90 and 109.27 and the bias is positive.
Gold has been trading sideways this morning. Currently trading up at 1696.96, trading range is between 1693.18 and 1700.20 with a negative bias.
Dr. Copper is at 3.68 down from 3.69 earlier.
The US dollar fell from 80.06 earlier to 79.56 and is currently trading down at 79.60.
** RRR = Risk Reward Ratio
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Written by Gary