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3 Next Steps to Ultimate Victory for Apple
I was worried about Apple’s (AAPL) quarter the way everyone else was. But with very sour sentiment, I made a plan to buy if it could get and stay above $100-$101. I did that live on the VTF after-hours. Let’s take a look at the chart: Getting in was step 1. Now we’ll see if it can hold that area moving forward, and we’ll see what kind of levels the intraday action gives us. Step #2 is to reclaim the 200-day moving average around $103.75, and then hold above that for a few sessions. Step #3 would be to break the downtrend that has plagued the stock for well over a year. If that happens, Apple can turn into a tailwind for the next few months. I’ll continue updating you with key levels so we can effectively navigate the action together. If you’d like to trade with me live, take a FREE trial to the VTF.
Continue Reading -->Scott Redler’s Morning Note: Fed Dead Ahead
Editor’s Note: This is a special FREE edition of Scott Redler’s Morning Note and his extended Morning Call video, which are released at 8:30 a.m. ET each day as part of Redler All-Access. Please call my team now at 1-888-998-3548 if you’d like to get Redler All-Access for FREE. ************* By Scott Redler We have mixed markets around the world this morning. Europe has positive action with the DAX +0.9%, CAC +1.4%, and the FTSE +0.3%, even with DB profits plunging 100% year-over-year. Asia was mixed as the Nikkei rallied 1.7% and the yen dropped on stimulus talks. Shanghai bucked the trend and is down 1.9% as they might curb some wealth management products. The Hang Seng rallied +0.4%. Our markets have been a bit choppy and erratic in this upper area. Strength has been sold and weakness bought as we’ve tried to figure out if SPX can hold above the 2155-2159 upper zone. If it continues to hold, we’ll see if it can break and close above 2175 after the 2:00 p.m. Fed announcement today. Some think they could be a bit more hawkish. Oil has been a drag as it slipped from $51 to below $43 with no real bounce. We’ll see if today’s 10:30 a.m. inventory number can turn it around to help broaden the rally a bit. USO has yesterday’s low at $10.02 to watch for a possible RDR long. UWTI has yesterday’s low at $20.27. Tech has acted much better since last week, when we said it can play catch-up to see all-time highs. QQQ is opening at 2016 highs. See if they can stay above $114.20 to keep momentum. Small caps had a choppy day but ended at 2016 highs with the IWM above $120.60. Now see if it extends and holds above yesterday’s high of $120.97. Banks have been flagging since earnings. Maybe a more hawkish tone gets them to clear this recent consolidation. I’ll write down what needs to hold, then pivots to clear to get back on the move. XLF has support at $23.55 and clearing $23.70 with volume could bring back buyers. JPM has to hold $63.50 and clear $64.30 to resolve the flag higher. C has to hold $43.80 and clear $44.40 to resolve the flag higher. BAC started to go yesterday and cleared $14.40. Holding this can get it back towards $15. MS started to clear its flag yesterday above $29.15 and it has room towards $30-32. GS has to hold $159.50 and clear $161.50 to try for the 200 day at $164.50. High-beta tech is on the move in separate patterns: NFLX held its post-earnings low Monday and closed well, giving some a clue to be long into yesterday’s gap up on the insider buy. Now see if it holds $90.90 as your pivot support. AMZN has earnings Thursday. I would avoid it until then. Recent support is $729-733. GOOGL has numbers Thursday. It’s been holding $750. It might give a trade above $760.50 before it. TSLA has lots of headlines flowing. Elon Musk talks up its potential, but also about a money raise. It needs to hold $225 to potentially give another trade above $231.39. MBLY got hit as news came it ended its relationship with TSLA. But it could strengthen with BMW. It will need some time. It can head into a gap fill if it clears $46.89. BABA has acted decent since clearing $80.05, but found resistance again at $85. Earnings aren’t until next week. See if it can hold $82.60 until then. NTES woke up Monday and had some follow-through above $201.50 to hit $206 yesterday. There is no setup now. PCLN is not doing much, but it is flagging after a big move. Support is $1305. Mega caps: AAPL had an impressive quarter after sentiment turned very sour. Now maybe with iPhone 7/7+ on the way, this stock could be more of a tailwind. It cleared $100.50 last night, giving us a good entry. If it can hold this, it could be more of a focus with decent resistance at $103.50-$105. First step is holding the gap up. Then, it needs to break the downtrend. MSFT still acts well but it’s a little choppy and extended. There is no setup but it’s fine as long as it holds $55.50. IBM acts fine but it’s also choppy. It needs to hold $161 to stay constructive. INTC had a nice move back towards the highs after holding the 21 day at $34. There is not much to do now. Social names: FB reports today after the close as it opens at another all-time high. There is not much to do now. It is priced for perfection. If you are an investor, congratulations. Traders should probably wait until after the report. $122 is the recent pivot high. TWTR still can’t put it together. It’s down 10%. There is support at $16.20ish. My options will be at $0. I will let dust settle and see how it shapes up today. Other notables: ACIA: after a big move with multiple pivots, it could use a rest. Jim Cramer pumped it last night. I may look for a cute short vs. $65.59. TWLO is choppy in this tight upper range. It seems like it needs earnings before the next move’s inside range. It has support at $39.50 and resistance at $41.70. LVS had a gap & go after earnings. I wouldn’t chase it now. See if it digests above the earnings gap at $49.27. WYNN has had a nice move since clearing the $97 pivot. It still has earnings to contend with. $105 offers some resistance. FCX had a big reversal after earnings. With a bit of time, perhaps it takes out $12.90 to get back towards $14. Metals are flattish. We have Fed statements today. GLD’s recent low is $125.11 after a corrective move from $131+. It will need to clear and close above $126.40 to bring in buyers. TLT: I’m not sure if the recent down move priced in a more hawkish
Continue Reading -->The Morning Hammer: Apple Smashes Bears, Record Nasdaq Highs in Sight
Global markets are in a happy mood courtesy of Apple’s (AAPL) better-than-expected earnings report, and Japan’s signaling of more stimulus. Apple is up ~$6.50 in the early going after beating analysts’ earnings, revenue, and iPhone unit estimates, and offering strong forward guidance. Meanwhile, just as traders thought Bank of Japan stimulus was priced in (based on yesterday’s big rally in the yen), PM Shinzo Abe showed commitment to a $265 billion stimulus package. That’s pushing the yen back down, which is great for risk appetites. SPX futures are slightly green, while NDX futures are up 0.7%. If Apple generates some follow-through among other large-cap techs, we could see a new Nasdaq Composite all-time high above 5231.94. And the NDX may finally exceed its March 2000 high of 4816.35. Facebook (FB) reports after the close, and if it repeats another blowout, maybe we see those records fall by the weekend. In related news, Twitter (TWTR) dropped another guidance stink bomb last night and is getting smashed up. Meanwhile, Fiat Chrysler raised its forecast, and Comcast (CMCSA) and GlaskoSmithKline beat. Crude oil is down after the API showed a very small decline in crude oil inventories after the close yesterday. EIA data hits at 10:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect a 2 million barrel decline. We also have durable goods, pending home sales, and of course, the FOMC rate decision. Fed Funds futures show that traders are pricing in a mere 10% chance of a rate hike today. The forward outlook will be key. I would pay close attention to see if the Fed eases up on its concerns over the Brexit, given that global economic data has been generally strong as of late. Lately, I’ve been emphasizing that perception of the Fed, which impacts all financial markets, is incredibly volatile. Ths is especially true this year. 2 months ago, traders were pricing in a 74% chance of a December rate hike. That number dropped to 10% chance after the Brexit. Now those odds are back up to nearly 50%. And we act like Tesla (TSLA) is volatile… Now one thing I found really interesting yesterday was the action below the surface in biotech. IBB was red because of Gilead’s (GILD) weak earnings report and big decline. Yet XBI, which is much more diversified (GILD is 8% of IBB), was actually well in the green. So below the surface, biotech was strong (as was the Russell 2000) on an overall snoozer of the day. So pay close attention to biotech — if it turns out to be a coiled spring, the bulls might party like it’s 1999. And 1999 was a good year!
Continue Reading -->Twitter: It’s Not About Earnings, It’s About the Reaction
I could post my numbers here and say that Twitter‘s gonna beat on EPS, have inline revenues, and the guide conservative, but frankly folks it doesn’t matter. For Twitter and this quarter, I think it’s all about the reaction to what they say. And what they are saying is new messaging and the messaging they should have had all along, which is about total platform engagement and the growth of that. Not the MAU metric, especially as Twitter doesn’t give themselves that soft-shoe MAU measurement. Twitter has never measured MAU’s the same drab way most every other social media company does. They hold their MAU’s to a higher standard than does FB, LNKD, and pretty much everyone else. But Adam Bain has been quite vocal about Twitter’s total audience and if that is where the commentary goes, Twitter is at least worth twice what it is today just given industry comps. Now I’m not going to say that Twitter’s quarter is totally meaningless on either something very good or very bad. A huge beat or a huge miss will obviously move the stock. But I’m not sure Twitter posts a quarter that is a big “financial surprise.” It’s all about assessing the opportunity and the future growth. The most encouraging “change” of late is the large ramp in video content and live streaming deals. This is definitely a notable positive change. A few more deals as well as “applications” that Twitter can keep bolting on and they will increase the “non-logged” audience as well as MAU’s. Simply put, there’s nothing more useful than Twitter from a personal and business tool in the social media space. Over time we will find out just how valuable that utility is to the company and others that are still activity building money making 3rd party apps using Twitter’s data. Oh, I will say that everyone that keeps playing Twitter for the M&A takeout will likely be disappointed, assuming they don’t hold it long enough. The single worst thing Twitter can do is sell itself for a premium over its currently depressed stock value. In fact, the more I look at the economic landscape I’m starting to think that LNKD made a huge mistake selling to MSFT. Why? Because if this US and Global economy does what I think it’s going to do, the next phase will be a material change in jobs growth, especially of better paying jobs. I also think salaries and wages could start increasing again. It’s very overdue for such a change as they haven’t risen in any material ways since 2006. That’s a decade folks. Thus, in a strengthening economy that grows Jobs, LNKD probably just sold itself for $5-10B less than what it would have risen to again on its own, And possibly $10-20B less than maybe they could have sold the company for in the future. Now just think that Twitter’s total addressable market is for sure 5X and possibly as much as 15X what LNKD’s TAM is, and you can see the potential for massive catch-up. However, that isn’t going to occur in weeks or on a single earnings report, especially one where the company has just finally figured out its correct messaging. Bottom line, I’m not sure the numbers for Twitter will be much of a surprise and I do very much think they will continue to guide conservatively. That is also a new and very positive long-term change which finally just occurred last quarter. However, if Twitter can keep tapping into to it’s “non-logged” usage which is roughly 500mm a day and grow that to the point where Twitter’s combined audience grows from the current 800mm total to 1.0-1.2Bish… we have a powder keg to the upside. And that is what I think the long-term path of Twitter is. The last thought I will leave you all with is IBM’s Watson. Is there a more important data stream to Watson than Twitter’s? I doubt it. And that’s just one example. I find it interesting that no one even talks about the Twitter Data license revenue anymore. But it hasn’t gone away and keep growing at a very strong rate. Once this stream’s base is big enough, it will become another key value driver for the shares. In the meantime, I’ll still be selling rips and buying dips but will retain a large slug in my core holdings for what I still believe should be a multi-bagger move. P.S. — I’d add one more thing. I think we are very close to a peak FB, Instagram, Snapchat type moment. IE., where the use of fun but sorta useless and definitely time-wasting social media platforms starts to see materially decelerating growth. That usage growth might itself even turn negative. If that occurs and Twitter’s use stays steady or even starts increasing again, that could be a whopper of an “inflection moment”. Moreover, I’ve not even baked that moment/turn into my long-term case, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about lately. As to me it’s very similar to thesis to where I called “peak Android” and noted that I thought iOS would see a massive increase and uptake of usage back in 2013. And I definitely think it’s worth noting that I’m having the above thought more frequently of late. ********* This was a special bonus edition of Sean Udall’s TechStrat Report. Click here to learn how you can get Sean’s best stock picks straight to your inbox.
Continue Reading -->The Safety Dance Starts, but You Can’t Argue With Price
The yen is rising this morning on what looks like an advance “sell the news” reaction in advance of the Bank of Japan Meeting on July 28-29. Remember, the yen has been ripping all year: Most economists expect the bank to increase its ETF purchase prices, cut rates, and increase its JGB purchases, which could mean it’s all but priced in. The Nikkei is off -1.4% and most European markets are red. SPX futures are flat, and I’m surprised they’re not down more. Crude oil slumped under $43 and the key biotech sector is getting roughed up in the early going. Gilead (GILD), which is 8.1% off the IBB ETF, is taking a big hit on its disappointing earnings reports, and is off 4.3% in the early going. IBB is indicated down -0.9%. That’s not the end of the world, but we can all agree that things are just plain better when biotech keeps its act together. There have been 4 horsemen leading equities since the 2/11 low — biotech (IBB), oil, high-yield (HYG), and the Russell 2000. Biotech and oil are obviously feeling the heat. High-yield is closely linked to oil (since oil prices drive default rates on energy bonds). Here is a chart of the HYG ETF vs. crude oil over the past year: So we have 3 of the 4 in some kind of trouble. Therefore, keep your eyes on the Russell. If that starts giving up, maybe the bears will score a victory. Post-Brexit, they haven’t been been able to do much. I still see an April-May-style sideways grind for the time being. Markets are a little stretched and sentiment is positive, but you can’t argue with price. Frankly, with the yen up so much and oil now 15%+ from the high , I expected SPX futures to be down at a least a half-percent. But they’re flat. In other earnings news, industrial giant United Technologies (UTX) is up after beating. The economic calendar picks up a little bit today, with S&P Case-Shiller, Markit PMI, Consumer Confidence, Richmond Fed, and New Home Sales numbers coming. However, the big news comes after the close with Apple’s (AAPL) earnings report. Expectations appear to be pretty low, but remember, it takes a lot of money to move Apple, so they really need to deliver. Twitter’s (TWTR) also reporting, and given how much that stock has run since Microsoft (MSFT) bought LinkedIn (LNKD), it will be in close focus. Still not fan of that one. Good luck friends!
Continue Reading -->State of the Markets: This Bull Is Strong
I mentioned last week that we are still stuck in high-level range and to me, that means we stick with a bullish bias until that lower part of the range breaks. Pulling back the zoom a little bit, let’s check the markets on a larger time frame and via sectors. The S&P 500 (via SPY) is hovering above the old breakout zone and is well above the intermediate trend line. Still a bullish bias in my view. Banks (KBE)- broke their uptrend and have been going sideways to down since. This is the most concerning thing that I have seen. I prefer them to lead, so this divergence could be a harbinger of things to come, but nothing yet. Retail (XRT) – broke its recent down trend, then checked back into it from above. A good sign and a clear positive trend change. Bullish here. Transports (XTN) – They were stuck in a downward channel, but broke through to the upside and have consolidated there for a while. Bullish again. The bull still seems strong here, and I don’t see the need to play for the downside until we break the lower end of this range. BP
Continue Reading -->All-Time Highs on the Table?
Happy Friday! We’re less than a day away from a much-needed weekend, so let’s try to go out strong… though I’ll settle for making it out alive. I’m picking Runaway Child, Running Wild by the Temptations as my morning pick-me-up since coffee wasn’t enough. Asian markets are slipping and Europe is slightly green following yesterday’s down day in the US. Japan is down on Governor Kuroda’s stated opposition to “helicopter money.” Markit’s euro area PMI hit an 18-month low at 52.7, while its UK PMI showed what they’re calling a “dramatic deterioration” in business activity. This is disappointing because UK economic data has actually been fairly strong relative to low expectations recently. On the plus side, Germany’s PMI was strong, though interestingly, the DAX is the worst performing major market this morning. Crude oil is off the lows but still down for the week as traders remain concerned about seasonably high gasoline inventory levels. In earnings, GE (GE) beat expectations despite a sluggish global macro picture, though fellow industrial Honeywell (HON) is off on light guidance. SPX futures are up fractionally on the boost from GE, so we could see the 7th new all-time high in the past 10 days. Sentiment continues to lean positive, which is probably best illustrated by the low VIX and steep VIX curve. However, bulls are not quite leaning “all in.” The ISE Sentiment Index has read bearish in 2 of the past 3 days and the AAII survey showed neutral sentiment. On my own personal back-of-the-envelope sentiment meter, I’d say that on a 1-10 scale, we’re at about a 7 out of 10 in terms of sentiment. (with 10 being ecstatically bullish) Near-term, the best course forward for the bulls seems to be a sideways grind like we saw in April-May. That horrendously boring lull tricked the bears into wasting all their money on put options, which ultimate provided the fuel for this recent streak of record highs. The economic calendar is more or less empty today — we’ve got just the Markit US Manufacturing PMI and Baker Hughes Rig Count, so odds are the news flow will be pretty light. I try to stear clear of politics here, but there is chatter that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton will appoint a running mate today. If she happens to appoint Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (I see a less than 25% chance of this myself), the banks could get hit short-term. I wouldn’t mind seeing a modest down day today to digest gains Good luck out there friends.
Continue Reading -->Jeff Cooper: Today Sets Up as a Key Day
Follow Jeff Cooper on Twitter: @JeffCooperLive Has anything really changed that justifies the extreme levels of bullish sentiment — other than stocks going up? Is the stock market discounting something favorable that bulls are chasing? I don’t think so. Rather, my sense is that after the Brexit vote, players were poised to pounce and short the Brexit Bounce — especially within the context of a tedious 18 month trading range punctuated by several sharp downdrafts. In other words, I think the way we got here was with an extraordinary level of players set to lay out shorts around a 50% retrace of the June trading range — to wit, SPX 2120 to 1992, which gives a mid-point of 2056. A funny thing happened on the way to collecting on those bets. The SPX rocketed through the 2056 like the proverbial knife through butter. In fact as the below daily SPX from June shows, the SPX closed at 2070 on day 2 off the Brexit low — above the monthly equilibrium pivot. The next session, the SPX cleared its 50 day line with authority. The bottom line: the perception that the impact of an exit vote could mean the breakup of the EU was prevalent, which caused an extraordinary level of bearish sentiment. In short, too many market participants were leaning to the short side of the ship; there was no shortage of players ready to short the Brexit Bounce which perpetuated a contrarian move. The Brexit Bounce morphed into the Brexit Bungee. Extreme bearish sentiment on the surprise vote has quickly shifted to extreme bullish sentiment. This is borne out by put/call ratios, the smart money/dumb money index and a decade high in the Greed/Fear Index. While some may chalk up this speedy shift from a selling panic to a buying panic to our modern era of twitterpated, computer driven information and hence this can only provide us with insight as to the short term, as in a few weeks, I am mindful of the market maxim that volatility precedes price. Be that as it may, assuming that the current upside spike in sentiment only speaks to a pullback over the next few weeks, I think the takeaway is that a picture perfect, pat pullback to the breakout pivot of 2110-2120 may be undercut leading to a push below the big psychological 2100 level. A decline below 2100 would raise red flags as to a failed breakout. If this plays out it would not surprise me to then see an contrarian bounce that tests current levels and perhaps nominally exceeds them. But if this scenario plays out, the damage will have been done. The damage I am referring to is the inherent structure of a blow-off. Blow-offs typically do not pullback for more than 3 days before resuming their runaway trajectory. So a meaningful pullback indicates the blow-off has culminated. Strategy. A 10 min SPX below shows a spike to 2170 on July 15 followed by a little decline to 2156. The index has been trading inside since. This morning’s the futures are indicating a push into yesterday’s gap window which if exceeded will likely satisfy our idealized 2174 level today, on the idealized July 20 turning point day. As a refresher, 2174 aligns/vibrates off this week on the Square of 9 Wheel and is opposite January 20, the primary low in 2016. So today sets up as a key day. Click here to read more about how Jeff is crushing the market with the Daily Market Report.
Continue Reading -->