Samhain

A gap up and pop to 2672 followed by some heavy back-filling, but strength returns in the afternoon and the market closes just below the Buy Signal line.

Not quite a Buy Signal but a close above the Sell Signal line.

The T volume oscillator moves up strongly and looks to be confirming the 'possible new T structure' centered on Monday's low. A new primary low with the possibility of some upside now.

Chart of S&P 500 for 31 October 2018

Be prepared for whatever is coming next, and trade with confidence:

To receive detailed daily analysis, guidance and the updated daily Buy / Sell trigger levels being generated by the Trading the Line system before the market opens, and intraday alerts when appropriate, please become a Member and Sign up for Alerts & Observations – includes access to Members Area and the Explanatory Notes for all of the concepts discussed.

Disclaimer: This is the diary of a personal trading system, its methodology and the signals that it is producing. You are welcome to follow along but please understand that the information presented here is for educational purposes only. No recommendations are being made to buy, or sell stocks, options or futures contracts. Please consult your own financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

 

Repression

Market heads higher in early trade and just touches the S/T Buy Signal level at 2706. No follow through and  quickly retraces back through 2792 triggering an S/T Sell Signal.

Another brutal afternoon of selling, with very strong buying at the low near 2600.

Cover at or prior to the close.

Chart of S&P 500 for 30 October 2018

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To receive detailed daily analysis, guidance and the updated daily Buy / Sell trigger levels being generated by the Trading the Line system before the market opens, and intraday alerts when appropriate, please become a Member and Sign up for Alerts & Observations – includes access to Members Area and the Explanatory Notes for all of the concepts discussed.

Disclaimer: This is the diary of a personal trading system, its methodology and the signals that it is producing. You are welcome to follow along but please understand that the information presented here is for educational purposes only. No recommendations are being made to buy, or sell stocks, options or futures contracts. Please consult your own financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

 

Cyrus

Another huge gap down and a spike low at 2629 meets buying in a wild day followed by the now characteristic afternoon selloff.

Are we there yet? Well, maybe..

Look for the 'afternoon high' to hold first and then some follow through next day to signal some change in mood.

Bear Market Warnings continue to flash and price volatility including the significant overnight gaps lower is making directional trading very difficult.

The Market is still significantly below the Sell Signal level and although a strong bounce from here is quite possible, there is still significant downside risk and price still has a problem.

Chart of S&P 500 for 29 October 2018

Be prepared for whatever is coming next, and trade with confidence:

To receive detailed daily analysis, guidance and the updated daily Buy / Sell trigger levels being generated by the Trading the Line system before the market opens, and intraday alerts when appropriate, please become a Member and Sign up for Alerts & Observations – includes access to Members Area and the Explanatory Notes for all of the concepts discussed.

Disclaimer: This is the diary of a personal trading system, its methodology and the signals that it is producing. You are welcome to follow along but please understand that the information presented here is for educational purposes only. No recommendations are being made to buy, or sell stocks, options or futures contracts. Please consult your own financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

 

Tombstone

You think you're pretty tough, don't ya, son?
I never knew a gunslinger yet so tough he lived to celebrate his 35th birthday.
I learned one rule about gunslingers.
There's always a man faster on the draw than you are,
and the more you use a gun, the sooner you're gonna run into that man.

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, 1957
Dir. John Sturges

An echo high. The market rallies strongly from a deep low into an afternoon high. Recent characteristic late day selling at 2720 as the market continues to sell into strength.

The selling resumes overnight.

Chart of S&P 500 for 26 October 2018

Be prepared for whatever is coming next, and trade with confidence:

To receive detailed daily analysis, guidance and the updated daily Buy / Sell trigger levels being generated by the Trading the Line system before the market opens, and intraday alerts when appropriate, please become a Member and Sign up for Alerts & Observations – includes access to Members Area and the Explanatory Notes for all of the concepts discussed.

Disclaimer: This is the diary of a personal trading system, its methodology and the signals that it is producing. You are welcome to follow along but please understand that the information presented here is for educational purposes only. No recommendations are being made to buy, or sell stocks, options or futures contracts. Please consult your own financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

 

Saint Crispin

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

William Shakespeare, Henry V, c. 1600

Blood in the street as the market makes a heavy plunge below 2700 to settle below the lower extreme for the first time since 2016.

Are we there yet? Well, maybe… but we will need to see significant stabilisation in price and in the oscillators to be convinced.

Relatively high ARMs and Put / Call ratios, but the VIX remains at levels that do not convey the drama of a 3% decline. Hmm still smelling a rat.

Watch to see if we have some kind of recovery followed by, more of the same.

And today is an echo high, after which we could expect… more selling.

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Be prepared for whatever is coming next, and trade with confidence:

To receive detailed daily analysis, guidance and the updated daily Buy / Sell trigger levels being generated by the Trading the Line system before the market opens, and intraday alerts when appropriate, please become a Member and Sign up for Alerts & Observations – includes access to Members Area and the Explanatory Notes for all of the concepts discussed.

Disclaimer: This is the diary of a personal trading system, its methodology and the signals that it is producing. You are welcome to follow along but please understand that the information presented here is for educational purposes only. No recommendations are being made to buy, or sell stocks, options or futures contracts. Please consult your own financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

 

Market closing at 2656

The market continues lower after yesterday's rally with an S/T Sell Signal still active below 2755.

In my pre-market notes I warned of significant downside risk.

For a number of personal reasons I did not issue a specific short entry point today but I did note that the selling was becoming more serious below 2720

The market tried very hard to hold onto the 2700 level but the heavy volatility continued and the last bounce off 2690 collapsed into the close.

 

Although some bearish targets have now been acheived, the market is now entering levels associated with some kind of potential crash and we should consider this to be a Bear Market for now.

 

Charter

Market opens down huge, breaks lower, tests the lower extreme and initiates a very strong counter trend rally.

IF yesterday's low holds then we have a second low with bullish divergence and a new possible T structure centered on that low. We need to see some follow through above yesterday's high.

IF yesterday was just a reaction to the severely negative opening and the selling continues today (and Futures are indicating that this is likely), then we are still looking for a major low and price will continue lower until the current problem with price is no longer apparent.

Very dangerous market conditions continue. Trade below the 200 day moving average indicates, for now, that the volatility will continue and that we should trade accordingly.

Chart of S&P 500 for 24 October 2018

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To receive detailed daily analysis, guidance and the updated daily Buy / Sell trigger levels being generated by the Trading the Line system before the market opens, and intraday alerts when appropriate, please become a Member and Sign up for Alerts & Observations – includes access to Members Area and the Explanatory Notes for all of the concepts discussed.

Disclaimer: This is the diary of a personal trading system, its methodology and the signals that it is producing. You are welcome to follow along but please understand that the information presented here is for educational purposes only. No recommendations are being made to buy, or sell stocks, options or futures contracts. Please consult your own financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

 

 

Edge Hill

An S/T Sell Signal at 2774 in early trade sees the market down at 2750 before a strong bounce at 'rising support' and a choppy remainder of the day.

Strong bounce and no follow through – Cover at 2760.

An Osc Buy Signal reflecting the 'stabilisation' since the low last week but the severe downtrend remains in place with the market selling into any strength.

Bear Market Warning flashing again, and the weekly trend turns neutral.

The market is currently in trouble and should be treated with extreme caution.

Futures indicate a serious drop at the open and how the market responds will be revealing.

Chart of S&P 500 for 22 October 2018

Be prepared for whatever is coming next, and trade with confidence:

To receive detailed daily analysis, guidance and the updated daily Buy / Sell trigger levels being generated by the Trading the Line system before the market opens, and intraday alerts when appropriate, please become a Member and Sign up for Alerts & Observations – includes access to Members Area and the Explanatory Notes for all of the concepts discussed.

Disclaimer: This is the diary of a personal trading system, its methodology and the signals that it is producing. You are welcome to follow along but please understand that the information presented here is for educational purposes only. No recommendations are being made to buy, or sell stocks, options or futures contracts. Please consult your own financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

 

Fracture

On Friday, another attempted Buy Signal at 2794 fades quickly and the selling increases, triggering a Sell Signal at 2781. Cover at or prior to the close.

The market continues to be unstable, and bipolar, reversing rapidly and triangulating in the region of the 200 day moving average.

Chart of S&P 500 for 22 October 2018

Be prepared for whatever is coming next, and trade with confidence:

To receive detailed daily analysis, guidance and the updated daily Buy / Sell trigger levels being generated by the Trading the Line system before the market opens, and intraday alerts when appropriate, please become a Member and Sign up for Alerts & Observations – includes access to Members Area and the Explanatory Notes for all of the concepts discussed.

Disclaimer: This is the diary of a personal trading system, its methodology and the signals that it is producing. You are welcome to follow along but please understand that the information presented here is for educational purposes only. No recommendations are being made to buy, or sell stocks, options or futures contracts. Please consult your own financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

 

Oktober

Welcome to the Trading the Line Special Report.

A series of late September Buy Signals failed to extend the market beyond the 21 September high with late day selling hinting that price had a problem and finally on 04 October price broke down creating the first Sell Signal since mid August and then over the next few days price plunged.

Price quickly found itself below the important 200 day moving average and bounced at the lower extreme of the channel, where some support has been found and a (perhaps temporary) low has formed.

The initial strong move up created a Buy Signal and defined a small T structure that has been short-lived as waves of selling into strength have been the result of such a forceful drop in the market.

Chart of S&P 500 for 22 September 2018

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As we can see from the chart below with the T volume oscillator, a series of large T structures were pointing to a completion in the September time-frame and although sometimes these structures continue to extend, they ultimately come to a conclusion, and that is usually a drop in the market. This is due to a lack of buying pressure at the end of a T structure.

The recent bounce has come at a 'logical' support area near previous lows and on rising trend lines from the previous lows and the move itself is not disimilar to the February one.

And so, we should of course be prepared for an erratic, volatile and choppy recovery, followed by more harsh selling, perhaps a series of lows (higher or lower) and ultimately, some kind of re-establishment of the trend…

Or, this is a Warning – a shot across the bows – and the beginning of a more serious decline, a Bear Market if you will, depth and length unknown.

Fortunately we do not need to know the answer, because the S/T System allows us to trade the market without the prejudice of prediction that would likely inhibit us.

Chart of S&P 500 for 22 October 2018

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Zooming out to the weekly chart, we can see price became unsustainable again above a very long term trend-line from the 2014-2015 peaks ultimately triggering price collapse into a volatile channel.

For now I am still seeing this as a process, initiated when price climbed above 2475 or so. Price then rises as high as possible before collapsing and re-defining its support levels. Look back to the bearish phases in 2015-2016 to see how price processed the highs and established some very strong support levels which then became a platform for moving higher.

Weekly chart of S&P 500 for 22 October 2018

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It is interesting to look at the much larger time frame occasionally, and on the monthly chart below we can contextualise the market in relation to its historical lows in 2002 and 2009.

It is clear that the market has been rising generally since the low in March 2009, and therefore within the right-hand side of a Mega T structure. According to this we have just seen a projected high from the April 2000 peak in January-February of this year (pink), and subsequently another projected high from the July 1999 high (red). This is potentially the momentum peak of the Mega large T structure. Another wave from the July 1998 high would project another major high in October 2019 – not necessarily a higher high though, but it could be.

As you can see the market is generally supported at its 10 month exponential moving average (ema) during bullish phases and subsequently at its 21 ema on major pullbacks. If the market is to enter a serious Bear Market it must then continue to decline below the 21 ema. Note also that the long-range 8 / 55 oscillator also provides a confirmation of the change in momentum.

For now, a Bear Market Warning is flashing but a monthly close above 2764 would improve that outlook.

Monthly chart of S&P 500 for 22 October 2018

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All in all, 2018 continues to bring with it some excellent opportunity and a range that is far beyond the experience of recent years. We should expect it to continue and trade accordingly. This is a Brave New World.

Regardless of whether the market can recover or whether deeper low(s) are ahead of us, the simplicity of the proprietary price based S/T Signalling System continues to keep us on the correct side of the market, providing a timely Sell signal at the beginning of October. Recent Buy Signals have rapidly switched back into Sell Signals as the market continues to stabilise and the outlook continues to look murky…

If you would like to learn more about using the S/T Signalling System please get in touch.

Be prepared for whatever is coming next, and trade with confidence:

To receive detailed daily analysis, guidance and the updated daily Buy / Sell trigger levels being generated by the Trading the Line system before the market opens, and intraday alerts when appropriate, please become a Member and Sign up for Alerts & Observations – includes access to Members Area and the Explanatory Notes for all of the concepts discussed.

Disclaimer: This is the diary of a personal trading system, its methodology and the signals that it is producing. You are welcome to follow along but please understand that the information presented here is for educational purposes only. No recommendations are being made to buy, or sell stocks, options or futures contracts. Please consult your own financial advisor before making any investment decisions.