Stocks apparently want to move higher and now the question comes to mind is a retest of the all time highs in the cards? Well if you look at the S&P 500 (see chart below) it sure seems so. The S&P 500 (chart) is at the earliest stages of technically breaking out of a 4 month trading range. Back in early November and again in early December the S&P flirted with the 2800 level before failing that level each time. In fact, in early December when the S&P tried to break the 2800 level not only did it fail to break through, it also went on to hit multi-year lows by the end of December. This is the time period where the bears started to growl and predict that stocks would continue to fall. Fast forward to today and not only did stocks reverse course since that late December sell-off, but now the key indices appear to be on the verge of breaking out. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (see chart here) also has bounced off its multi-year lows in December and is trading above its key moving averages, the Nasdaq Composite (see chart here) from a technical standpoint is also on the verge of breaking out, however the small-cap Russell 2000 (see chart here) has work to do to reclaim its 200-day moving average.
So what does all this technical jargon mean? It’s no secret the markets trade in algos and bots. Many of these algorithm trading platforms are programmed to certain technical indicators i.e. the 20-day, 50-day, 100-day and 200-day moving averages and/or the relative strength index aka the RSI. Furthermore, in many instances when the key indices are setup at a breakout level such as where the S&P 500 (see chart here) and the Nasdaq Composite (see chart here) find themselves at, momentum traders also come up to the plate and act. So we could very well indeed see the markets make a run to retest the all-time highs. Paula and I wish everyone a safe and Happy St. Patricks Day!
Good luck to all 🙂
~George
