Opening Market Commentary For 04-14-2014

Premarkets were up +0.20% after US Advanced Retail Sales beat expectations by 0.20%. Across the board the US financial reporting was better than expected.

The markets gaped up a half percentage point on the opening and then traded sideways for the first 15 minutes on low to moderate volume while the $VIX dropped from the high 17's to the mid 16's.

By 10 am the averages were melting steadily downwards, but nothing that hasn't happened before. The afternoon session just might be positive, recovering from the morning lows, just like it has done before.

The market analysis are getting more bearish by the day, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it, not just yet. There are a lot of things going on in the background that could move the markets significantly, eg. the Ukraine crisis.

Flashing Red Warning: Q1 Earnings Growth Plunges To Lowest Since 2012

While the so-called "experts" were adamant in repeating that one must ignore all Q1 economic data (because of harsh weather you know). . .

one thing the same "experts" pounded the table on was the earnings growth in 2014 which confirmed that the Fed was correct in tapering and that the corporate sector was well on its way to achieving "escape velocity" and a stable recovery.

And then this happened...

The short term indicators are leaning towards the hold side at the opening. The all important signs of reversal, up or down, have not been observed so we are mostly, at best, neutral and conservatively holding. The important DMA's, volume and a host of other studies have not turned, only a 6% correction (and recovery) and that is not enough for me to start shorting. The MACD has turned down slightly, but remains above zero. I would advise caution in taking any position during this volatile transition period although Barchart.com shows a 8 % buy. (Remember this has been negative for weeks.)

In looking at the 100 DMA, the current SP500 opened below that line, but way above the 200 DMA and on 02-06-14 crossed above the 100. I can not see, as of right now where those MA's are rolling over to indicate any permanent bear run in fact quiet the opposite. However it is a completely different story for the NASDAQ and $RUT where they have dropped down below the 145 DMA and the 50 DMA is starting to flatten out.

We have seen similar action at the beginning of Feb, 2014 when the SP500 went below the 100 DMA and actually touched the 145 DMA and then rebounded to set new historic highs in the beginning of this month.

Bottom line here is that I have not seen any serious bears jumping out of the woods just yet, although I am VERY concerned that this correction could turn nasty in a heart beat.

I still believe that Mr. Market is STILL not through playing with us and even newer historical highs are a distinct possibility beyond what we have seen, mainly because the amount of bond buying the Fed still does on a monthly basis. For those who are hell-bent bears, this article, 5 Reasons Your Simple Bear Market Plans Could Backfire, should be required reading.

The longer 6 month outlook is now 35-65 sell and will remain bearish until we can see what the effects are in the Fed's 'Tapering' game plan and Russia's annexing game playing. Again, I would also take chart and other technical indicators with a lessor degree of reliability for the time being and watch what the Janet Yellen's Fed does over the next couple of months. The margin debt is very high and has been setting historic highs and as of Monday, 4-7-2014, it stands at $466 billion.

It is its ending of QE that worries me the most as many financial institution and emerging markets can not continue to push forward or upwards without the Fed's 'Market Viagra'. Even if the Fed reduces its purchases by $10 billion every month for the rest of 2014, the Fed will have acquired $320 billion more for its portfolio. Note, that in 2013, the Fed added more than $1.0 trillion in securities to its portfolio. The debt stands at 4 trillion and will be at 5 trillion by the time the taper is completed and that is one hell of a debt that 'someone' has to pay.

Several notes of negativity is that the margin debt for stock purchases is at an all time high and investors are worried about issues directly related to the Fed's tapering. They are considering this factor along with the Argentine Peso, South African Rand and Japan. And of course, China's defaulting businesses are dropping like flies. And now the Second Chinese Bond Company Defaults, First High Yield Bond Issuer. And now Another Chinese High Yield Bond Issuer Declares Bankruptcy.

The real story behind the current weakness is the US weak housing, layoffs and poor employment data, inventory reductions and soft economic outlook including a mediocre sales outlook.

Many pundits have stated that we may have seen the top - but I wouldn't count it as long as the Fed continues to hand out 'Market Viagra', even if it is being reduced somewhat! I would like to see a blowout candle (shooting star) to verify a top along with heavy volume to signify a market top.

The Best Stock Market Indicator Update says the market is Un-tradable. The OEXA200R ended the week at 72%, down from 90% last weekend.

Of the three secondary indicators:

• RSI is POSITIVE (below 50).

• MACD is POSITIVE (black line below red).

• Slow STO is POSITIVE (black line below red).

Is the Bull finally over? That's what a lot of traders are beginning to ask themselves right now. Two Bull / Bear indicators that I keep an eye on are the bank index (represented by $BKX) and NYSE Margin Debt, both shown below.

When people start missing payments on car loans and mortgages it indicates a serious underlying problem with the economy. Twice in the recent past, Feb. 5, 2007 and Jan. 31, 2011, a drop by the banks preceded a significant drop in the S&P by several months. The same occurred with Margin Debt in March 2000 and July 2007 (the caveat here is that Margin Debt data is always a month old).

My feeling is that we're entering the final euphoria phase of the five-year stock market bull, and I'll be watching warily for major resistance points in the coming months. One in particular will be when the Nasdaq reaches 5000, the same top as in year 2000, maybe by this June or July. I'm very surprised at how large this bubble has grown, fueled by the Fed's single-minded determination to support Wall Street. (. . . and Gary agrees )

• Read More . . .

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The DOW at 10:00 is at 16097 up 72 or 0.46%.

The SP500 is at 1825 up 10 or 0.54%.

SPY is at 1821.50 up 1 or 0.55%.

The $RUT is at 1118 up 6 or 0.57%.

NASDAQ is at 4018 up 17 or 0.41%.

NASDAQ 100 is at 3461 up 14 or 0.39%.

$VIX 'Fear Index' is at 16.96 down 0.12 or -0.70%. Bullish Bearish Movement

(Follow Real Time Market Averages at end of this article)

The longer trend is up, the past months trend is sideways, the past 5 sessions have been negative and the current bias is elevated, but sideways.

WTI oil is trading between 104.55 (resistance) and 103.38 (support) today. The session bias is negative and trading sideways and is currently trading up at 103.73.

Brent Crude is trading between 108.42 (resistance) and 107.30 (support) today. The session bias is positive and is currently trading up at 108.02.

Gold fell from 1330.00 earlier to 1319.20 and is currently trading down at 1325.90. The current intra-session trend is sideways and mixed.

Dr. Copper is at 3.050 falling from 3.061 earlier.

The US dollar is trading between 79.1 and 79.62 and is currently trading up at 79.80, the bias is currently positive.

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