Opening Market Commentary For 06-18-2014

Premarkets were quiet and flat this morning prior to the FOMC meeting. Markets opened somewhat the same way with a lot of churning on low to anemic volume and not going anywhere fast. FDX (FedEx) came in higher than the street view, but the 2 pm Rate Decision by the FOMC which is expected to be revised due to poor activity in the first quarter.

By the 15 minute mark the DOW was down 5 points and the averages are expected to trade in a narrow range until this afternoon's Feds meeting. By 10 not much had changed.

The Fed statement, which is expected to continue its $10B taper program, will be announced at 2 pm and Ms. Yellen's press conference will follow 30 minutes later. Coffee and Croissants will be served.

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 and that is not enough for me to start shorting. The SP500MACD has turned down, but remains above zero at 14.73. I would advise caution in taking any position during this volatile transition period although Barchart.com shows a40 % sell. Investing.com members' sentiments are 64 % bearish and Investors Intelligence sets the breath at 67.2 % bullish with the status at Bear Correction.

Here is the John Carlucci weekly update on his best stock market indicator.

Best Stock Market Indicator Ever: Weekly Update

The $OEXA200R Monthly (the percentage of S&P 100 stocks above their 200 DMA) is a technical indicator available on StockCharts.com used to find the "sweet spot" time period in the market when you have the best chance of making money. 

According to this system, the market is now Tradable. The OEXA200R ended the week at 88%, down from 94% last week. 

All three secondary indicators are positive.

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 ANY minor correction could turn nasty in a heart beat. One significant signal would be losses in any of the major averages that go over the 'magic' 3 % and then you need to pay close attention to risk-off tactics. Any market correction over 6% would be an additional signal and I can't see having one without the other.

In Lance Roberts article he asks, Is The Market Consolidating Or Topping?

There are two ways to look at stagnation in the markets. It is either a consolidation process that works off an overbought condition which leads to further advances, OR it is a topping process that leads to a market decline. Discerning which process is currently "in play" is critical for investor decision making.

Let me be clear. I am not stating that the current consolidation processwill absolutely collapse into a sharp correction in the months ahead.However, I am stating that the current environment is more similar to past markets which did correct, than not.

While it is certainly possible that the markets could ratchet higher from here due to the "psychological momentum" that currently exists, the likelihood of a runaway bull market from here is remote.

It is still possible that Mr. Market is not through playing with the averages and even newer historical highs are a distinct possibility. Historically, accordingly to Eric Parnell, "major bull markets have almost never reached their final peak in a sideways grinding pattern. Instead, they have almost always peaked with flourish including one final crescendo toward a new all-time high before finally rolling over and succumbing to the forces of the new bear market".

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, Russia's annexing game playing and of course the World's newest player Iraq. 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. Also, the margin debt has been very high and as of Monday, 4-7-2014, it stood at $466 billion. (Read More at NYSE Statistics Archive) (It has since gone down slightly, but remains high.)

It is the final 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 additional notes of negativity where investors are worried about issues directly related to factors of the Argentine economy, South African Rand and Japan. And of course, China's defaulting businesses are dropping like flies. Now the Second Chinese Bond Company Defaults, First High Yield Bond Issuer and Another Chinese High Yield Bond Issuer Declares Bankruptcy. Iraq Anxiety Pushes Oil to Three-Month High is just another notch in the bears gun.

The markets are still susceptible to climbing on 'Bernankellen' vapor, use caution!

If you would like to get advanced buy/sell tweets, sign-up in the column to the right of this post by clicking on the 'Follow' button. Write me with suggestions and I promise not to bite.

The DOW at 10:00 is at 16797 down 12 or -0.07%.

The SP500 is at 1944 up 2 or 0.13%.

SPY is at 195.00 up 0.17 or 0.09%.

The $RUT is at 1175 down 1 or -0.11%.

NASDAQ is at 4333 down 5 or -0.12%.

NASDAQ 100 is at 3778 down 4 or -0.10%.

$VIX 'Fear Index' is at 11.70 down 0.36 or -2.99%. Bullish Movement

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

The longer trend is up, the past months trend is positive, the past 5 sessions have been net even and the current bias is mixed.

How Oil Really Gets Priced

WTI oil is trading between 106.45 (resistance) and 105.70 (support) today. The session bias is sideways and is currently trading down at 106.28.

Brent Crude is trading between 113.85 (resistance) and 113.06 (support) today. The session bias is sideways and volatile and is currently trading down at 113.67

Maybe I'm Wrong - Justifying $2,000+ Gold by Jeffrey Dow Jones

Gold rose from 1266.61 earlier to 1274.39 and is currently trading down at 1270.70. The current intra-session trend is sideways and volatile.

Analysts forecast a corrosive year for copper prices

Dr. Copper is at 3.059 falling from 3.075 earlier.

The US dollar is trading between 80.73 and 80.58 and is currently trading down at80.60, the bias is currently negative.

Real Time Market Numbers