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Trading: Trend Following Vs. Counter-Trend
By
PristineTrading, in The Markets
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By AdrianaLowe
The theme over this last trading week has been one of remarkable resilience. After breaking down from key resistance levels, it seemed that a period of consolidation would follow. But, globally, markets instead rallied with conviction to retest their highs.
I have been sceptical about the sustainability of the rally this year. But one of the most fundamental axioms of surviving the markets is to trade what you see, not what you believe. And what I am seeing is markets that seem to want to push higher across the board, with individual stocks holding up well even when faced with bearish news.
S&P 500
(credit: chart from Sigma by Hydra X)
The S&P closed the week strongly at 2,822.48, up 0.5% on high volume, and on the back of its biggest weekly gain since November 2018. US markets seem insistent on forging a path higher despite the overhang of earnings, macro economy news, North Korea, and ongoing China trade talks. I still wait for price to break and close clear of the congestion zone around 2,800 before entering longs, but this looks increasingly like a environment where the only rational positions to take are either to be flat or long.
MICROSOFT
(credit: chart from Sigma by Hydra X)
Gains this week were led by tech, with the sector surging 4.9%, and also becoming the best performing sector of 2019. I find MSFT interesting, having completed a bullish inverse head and shoulders pattern, rallying in a tight rising channel, and strongly testing resistance (and also its all-time highs) on high volume. But a spinning top candlestick in the midst of overhead resistance, and a bearish stochastic crossover which in overbought territory could translate into a pullback, which could provide interesting entries for longs.
TESLA
(credit: chart from Sigma by Hydra X)
A good litmus test for market sentiment is how stocks behave on news. Tesla has held on to $275 support despite its Model Y unveiling event underwhelming analysts; BAML, CFRA Research and Canaccord Genuity all issued cautionary notes. If it gets there, $260 looks to be strong support for a countertrend rally.
BOEING
(credit: chart from Sigma by Hydra X)
Boeing continued to suffer the aftermath of the latest tragedy, ultimately having to suspend its entire fleet of 737 MAX planes when the FAA finally followed the lead of global aviation authorities in grounding the plane. Deliveries of the 737 MAX have also been paused. The beleaguered company faces an indeterminate outcome from investigations, bills from airlines affected by the grounding of the plane, as well as potential suits from the families of victims. On Thursday, the US Air Force joined the party. It launched a blistering attack on Boeing, saying that the company has a ‘severe situation’ after flawed inspections of their KC-46 air refuelling tanker aircraft, and questioning the company’s ‘culture of discipline for safety’. [https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/14/politics/air-force-boeing-refueling-plane/index.html] Despite all this, the stock has proven remarkably well supported at $370, repeatedly rallying from those levels on high volume.
FACEBOOK
(credit: chart from Sigma by Hydra X)
No company has had a worse week than FB, even within the context of its bad year. The week started with a proposal by Senator Elizabeth Warren to break up FB, was followed by a network outage affecting its Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram services, and then announcements of a widening federal criminal probe into its data sharing practices. Two key executives, Chris Cox and Chris Daniels also announced their departures from the company. A nadir was reached when its Facebook application was used to livestream the hate-driven massacre of 49 people in New Zealand.
Technically, the stock has broken below the bottom of its ascending channel, and key overhead resistance in the $170-173 region looks daunting. There is also a huge gap from Feb 2019 waiting to be closed.
Yet in spite of the weak technical picture and the deluge of negative news, FB closed just 2.13% down for the week, and ended the trading session on Friday well above the lows of the day, forming a bullish hammer. While I have been waiting for a clear break in one direction or the other for a while, as rising channel met overhead resistance, I choose to stay as interested spectators for now.
EUR/USD
(credit: chart from Sigma by Hydra X)
Finally, last week I noted the technical breakdown of key support levels in the EURUSD, in conjunction with fundamentally bearish news in the form of Draghi’s dovish speech. However, I was keen to stay on the sidelines, given past experience of how crowded trades tend to turn out. EURUSD didn’t disappoint, as it promptly rose in a stop-hunting rally, which would have trapped any short entries in a very uncomfortable position.
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By Stocks4life · Posted
AMZN Amazon stock, nice buying at the 187.26 triple+ support area at https://stockconsultant.com/?AMZN -
By Stocks4life · Posted
DELL Dell Technologies stock, good day moving higher off the 90.99 double support area, from Stocks to Watch at https://stockconsultant.com/?DELL -
By Stocks4life · Posted
MCK Mckesson stock, nice trend and continuation breakout at https://stockconsultant.com/?MCK -
lmfx just officially launched their own LMGX token, Im planning to grab a couple of hundred and maybe have the option to stake them. -
By HFblogNews · Posted
Date: 2nd April 2025. Market on Edge: Tariff Announcement and Volatility Ahead! The US economic and employment data continues to deteriorate with the job vacancies figures dropping to a 5-month low. In addition to this, the IMS Manufacturing PMI also fell below expectations. However, both the US Dollar and Gold declined simultaneously following the release of the two figures, an uncommon occurrence in the market. Traders expect a key factor to be today’s ‘liberation day’ where the US will impose tariffs on imports. USDJPY - Traders Await Tariff Confirmation! Traders looking to determine how the USDJPY will look today will find it difficult to determine until the US confirms its tariff plan. Today is the day when Trump previously stated he would finalize and announce his tariff plan. The administration has not yet released the policy, but investors expect it to be the most expansionary in a century. President Trump is due to speak at 20:00 GMT. On HFM's Calendar the speech is stated as "US Liberation Day Tariff Announcement". Currently, analysts are expecting Trump’s Tariff Plan to impose tariffs on the EU, chips and pharmaceuticals later today as well as reciprocal tariffs. Economists have a good idea of how these tariffs may take effect, but reciprocal tariffs are still unspecified. In addition to this, 25% tariffs on the car industry will start tomorrow. The tariffs on the foreign cars industry are a factor which will particularly impact Japan. Although, traders should note that this is what is expected and is not yet finalised. Last week, President Trump stated that he would implement retaliatory tariffs but allow exemptions for certain US trade partners. Treasury Secretary Mr Bessent and National Economic Council Director Mr Hassett suggested that the restrictions would primarily target 15 countries responsible for the bulk of the US trade deficit. However, yesterday, Trump contradicted these statements, asserting that additional duties would be imposed on any country that has implemented similar measures against US products. The day’s volatility will depend on which route the US administration takes. The harshness of the policy will influence both the Japanese Yen as well as the US Dollar. USDJPY 5-Minute Chart US Economic and Employment Data The JOLT Job Vacancies figure fell below expectations and is lower than the previous month’s figure. The JOLT Job Vacancies read 7.57 million whereas the average of the past 6 months is 7.78 million. The ISM Manufacturing Index also fell below the key level of 50.00 and was 5 points lower than what analysts were expecting. The data is negative for the US Dollar, particularly as the latest release applies more pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. However, this is unlikely to happen if the trade policy ignites higher and stickier inflation. In the Bank of Japan’s Governor's latest speech, Mr Ueda said that the tariffs are likely to trigger higher inflation. USDJPY Technical Analysis Currently, the Japanese Yen Index is the worst performing of the day while the US Dollar Index is more or less unchanged. However, this is something traders will continue to monitor as the EU session starts. In the 2-hour timeframe, the USDJPY is trading at the neutral level below the 75-bar EMA and 100-bar SMA. The RSI and MACD is also at the neutral level meaning traders should be open to price movements in either direction. On the smaller timeframes, such as the 5-minute timeframe, there is a slight bias towards a bullish outcome. However, this is only likely if the latest bearish swing does not drop below the 200-Bar SMA. The key resistant level can be seen at 150.262 and the support level at 149.115. Breakout levels are at 149.988 and 149.674. Key Takeaway Points: Job vacancies hit a five-month low, and the ISM Manufacturing PMI missed expectations, adding pressure on the Federal Reserve regarding interest rate decisions. Traders await confirmation on Trump’s tariff policy, which is expected to impact the EU, chips, pharmaceuticals, and foreign car industries. The severity of the tariffs will influence both the JPY and the USD, with traders waiting for final policy details. The Japanese Yen Index is the worst index of the day while the US Dollar Index is unchanged. Always trade with strict risk management. Your capital is the single most important aspect of your trading business. Please note that times displayed based on local time zone and are from time of writing this report. Click HERE to access the full HFM Economic calendar. Want to learn to trade and analyse the markets? Join our webinars and get analysis and trading ideas combined with better understanding of how markets work. Click HERE to register for FREE! Click HERE to READ more Market news. Michalis Efthymiou HFMarkets Disclaimer: This material is provided as a general marketing communication for information purposes only and does not constitute an independent investment research. Nothing in this communication contains, or should be considered as containing, an investment advice or an investment recommendation or a solicitation for the purpose of buying or selling of any financial instrument. All information provided is gathered from reputable sources and any information containing an indication of past performance is not a guarantee or reliable indicator of future performance. Users acknowledge that any investment in Leveraged Products is characterized by a certain degree of uncertainty and that any investment of this nature involves a high level of risk for which the users are solely responsible and liable. We assume no liability for any loss arising from any investment made based on the information provided in this communication. This communication must not be reproduced or further distributed without our prior written permission.
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