21Apr2017 Market Update: Wall Street Fractionally Lower, DOW Down 41 Points And Looking To Drop Further Before The Close, Crude Steady Ahead Of Rig Count

Written by Gary

US stocks edged lower in early afternoon trading (SPY -0.4%) as investors held off from making risky bets ahead of the first round of the closely contested French presidential election and keep an eye on blue-chip earnings.

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money
	North and South American markets are mixed. The Bovespa is higher by 0.56%, while the IPC is leading the S&P 500 lower. They are down 0.46% and 0.39% respectively.

Traders Corner – Health of the Market

Index	Description	Current Value
Investors.com Members Sentiment:	% Bullish (the balance is Bearish)	74%
CNN’s Fear & Greed Index	Above 50 = greed, below 50 = fear	31%
Investors Intelligence sets the breath	Above 50 bullish	64%
StockChart.com Overbought / Oversold Index ($NYMO)	anything below -30 / -40 is a concern of going deeper. Oversold conditions on the NYSE McClellan Oscillator usually bounce back at anything over -50 and reverse after reaching +40 oversold.	+15.77
StockChart.com NYSE % of stocks above 200 DMA Index ($OEXA200R )	$NYA200R chart below is the percentage of stocks above the 200 DMA and is always a good statistic to follow. It can depict a trend of declining equities which is always troubling, especially when it drops below 60% – 55%. Following a major market correction, the conditions for safe re-entry are when: a) Daily $OEXA200R rises above 65% Secondary Bullish Indicators: a) RSI is POSITIVE (above 50) b) Slow STO is POSITIVE (black line above red line) c) MACD is POSITIVE (black line above red line)	82%
StockChart.com NYSE Bullish Percent Index ($BPNYA)	Next stop down is ~57, then ~44, below that is where we will most likely see the markets crash.	65%
StockChart.com S&P 500 Bullish Percent Index ($BPSPX)	In support zone and rising. ~62, ~57, ~45 at which the markets are in a full-blown correction.	71%
StockChart.com 10 Year Treasury Note Yield Index ($TNX)	ten year note index value	22.16
StockChart.com Consumer Discretionary ETF (XLY)	As long as the consumer discretionary holds above [66.88], all things being equal, it is a good sign for stocks and the U.S. economy	88.08
StockChart.com NYSE Composite (Liquidity) Index ($NYA )	Markets move inverse to institutional selling and this NYA Index is followed by Institutional Investors	11,376

What Is Moving the Markets

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Wall Street slips as investors eye French election (Reuters) – Wall Street edged lower in early afternoon trading on Friday as investors held off from making risky bets ahead of the first round of the closely contested French presidential election.
	U.S. judge sentences Volkswagen to three-years’ probation, oversight DETROIT (Reuters) – A federal judge in Detroit on Friday sentenced Volkswagen AG to three years’ probation and independent oversight for the German automaker’s diesel emissions scandal as part of a $4.3 billion settlement announced in January.
	Wells Fargo expands settlement to include more customer accounts (Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co said it would expand its class action settlement related to the lender’s retail sales practices to include customer accounts as early as May 2002.
	Exclusive: BT files criminal complaint over Italy accounting scandal MILAN (Reuters) – British Telecom has filed a criminal complaint with Italian prosecutors over an accounting scandal at its Italian unit and has handed them computer records and also dispatched its head of compliance to Milan to give evidence.
	GE cash flow turns negative in quarter; profit, revenue beat NEW YORK (Reuters) – General Electric Co reported on Friday that first-quarter cash flow from its industrial operations turned negative and was less than the company expected, though its earnings and revenue exceeded analyst estimates.
	Oil dives, U.S. crude below $50 for first time in two weeks NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices tumbled on Friday, on track for the biggest weekly drop in a month on renewed concerns that increasing U.S. production and high inventories will thwart OPEC’s attempts to reduce the global crude glut.
	Elon Musk on mission to link human brains with computers in four years: report (Reuters) – Tesla Inc founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk said his latest company Neuralink Corp is working to link the human brain with a machine interface by creating micron-sized devices.
	Investors not yet ruffled by looming government shutdown NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks have struggled since the timeline for the Trump administration’s pro-growth agenda came into question, but investors appear confident that next week’s deadline that could shut down the federal government will not become another market hurdle.
	Struggling apparel retailer Bebe to shut all stores (Reuters) – Struggling apparel retailer Bebe Stores Inc said on Friday it would close all its stores by the end of May, barely a month after announcing it was exploring strategic alternatives following four years of losses.
	Rig Count Rise Continues To Lead US Crude Production To 20-Month Highs With WTI prices back below $50, it appears stocks and NOPEC production are trumping any OPEC hype/hope and today’s Baker Hughes’ rig count merely adds to those concerns. For the 13th week in a row, the number of US oil rigs rose (up 5 to 688, the highest since April 2015). U.S. GAS RIG COUNT UP 5 TO 167 , BAKER HUGHES SAYS :BHI US U.S. OIL RIG COUNT UP 5 TO 688 , BAKER HUGHES SAYS :BHI US Though the rig count iuncreased, it is the smallest rise in 3 months… US Crude production reaches its highest since August 2015 as it tracks the lagged rig count higher… At this pace, US crude production will be at record highs (above 9.6mm b/d) by August. And while the U.S. shale sector continues to be the hottest spot in natural resources investment, OilPrice.com’s Dave Forest notes that news this week suggests America’s oil and gas industry may have a new rival — as shale in a completely different part of the world gets ready to go commercial. In Argentina. The governor of Argentina’s Neuquen province Omar Gutierrez said in a
	Will Banks Allow Another Slew Of Oil Bankruptcies? Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice.com, Last week, U.S. banks boosted the borrowing bases for several independent energy companies, lifting spirits in the industry. The move was taken as a sign that lenders are beginning to share in the optimism that oil and gas producers have been enjoying since the beginning of the year, with prices staying above $50. While some banks seem to be sharing some of the optimism, others are more cautious. A recent analysis from Bloomberg Gadfly’s Lisa Abramowicz reveals that a lot of energy companies with revolving credit lines are tapping deep into these resources. Abramowicz cites data from Bloomberg Intelligence that shows at least 11 companies have used up more than two-thirds of their credit lines. Banks, Abramowicz says, do not like this, so they may well decide to cut the credit lines of companies they consider risky. They can afford to—exposure to the oil and gas industry is more modest than it was three years ago, and Abramowicz arg …
	It’s Not Over – House Intel Panel Calls Comey, Clapper, Rogers, Brennan, & Yates To Testify On Russia Just when you thought it was over – after Trump ‘Tomahawks’ Putin’s pal Assad, and Tillerson trounces Lavrov – and the media had stopped the constant “Russia did it” narrative, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (which seems like as big an oxymoron as can occur) has called numerous current (and former) officials to testify once again on Russia’s “active measures during the 2016 election.” As NBC Nightly News reports, As The Hill reports, the Yates hearing would be scheduled after the Comey and Rogers appearance, slated for May 2. Former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper have also been invited to testify with Yates. The timing of the two hearings has been a point of fierce partisan contention on the panel and has been one of many fights that has threatened to explode the committee’s investigation. The open panel, featuring Yates, had previously been scheduled in March, but was canceled by committee chair Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). The Washington Post reported at the time that the White House sought to block her from testifying, a charge that Press Secretary Sean Spicer has denied. Nunes said that the hearing had been nixed to make room for a closed-door briefing with Comey and Rogers — but
	F-18 Fighter Jet From Carl Vinson Carrier Crashes Off The Philippines With the USS Carl Vinson finally on its way to North Korea after some initial “miscommunications” between the White House and the Pentagon, on Friday the aircraft carrier suffered another embarrassing moment when a F-18 pilot was forced to eject during an attempted landing on the deck of the Vinson in the Celebes Sea, south of the Philippines, the US Navy said in a statement. The pilot was recovered safely. According to the US 7th Fleet Command, the incident occurred as the fighter jet was on final approach after “conducting routine flight operations” and is currently under investigation. The pilot is being assessed by the medical team on board USS Carl Vinson and there are no apparent injuries at this time. Full statement below: USS Carl Vinson Pilot Ejects Safely at Sea A pilot safely ejected and was quickly recovered by a helicopter assigned to HSC-4 aboard USS Carl Vinson while conducting routine flight operations during a transit in the Celebes Sea. The incident occurred as the F/A-18E assigned to Carrier Air Wing 2 was on final approach to USS Carl Vinson. The incident is currently under investigation. The pilot is being assessed by the medical team on board USS Carl Vinson and there are no apparent injuries at this time. The carrier group, currently located in proximity to the Philippines, is “steaming out toward the Sea of Japan” the White House said earlier this month. On April 15, however, the Navy posted a ph …
	Are Markets Prepared for a French Election Surprise? Political surprises in 2016 mean investors have taken greater precautions ahead of the French presidential vote—but there could still be fireworks on Monday.
	Trump’s Steel Battle Looks Unwinnable A big steel tariff is unlikely do much to boost U.S. growth or employment, given China’s advantages.
	Banks and Borrowers Are Waiting on Washington Regional banks are seeing both optimism and angst in the American heartland, reporting that their customers are waiting for clues from Washington before taking action.
	Capitol Report: Corporate-inversion rules under Trump microscope in move to lighten tax burdens Obama-era regulations on so-called corporate inversions are among the rules that the Treasury Department will review under an examination of recent tax regulations, Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday.
	iHeartRadio parent warns it may not survive another year The biggest operator of radio stations in the U.S., the iHeartRadio parent headed by Bob Pittman of MTV fame, will include language in its next quarterly report warning investors that it may not survive another year, according to a regulatory filing.
	London Markets: FTSE 100 edges down after weak retail sales, logs worst week in 5 months U.K. stocks end Friday’s choppy session with a slight loss, leaving the benchmark FTSE 100 with its worst weekly performance in five months.