Mixed Picture to Start the Week

Harry Boxer The Technical Trader

The stock market indices started the week off with a pop, and then a very sharp drop. By midday, they reached their lows, and then rallied back at the end of the day and finished mixed.

Net on the day, the Dow was down 27.40 at 19,799.85, 75 points off the low. The S&P 500 was down 6.11 at 2265.20, 8 points off the low. The Nasdaq 100 was up 2.50 at 5065.70.

Advance-declines were 16 to 13 positive on the New York Stock Exchange, and 16 to 11 1/2 negative the Nasdaq. Up/down volume was 3 to 2 negative on New York, total volume of 3 billion shares traded. The Nasdaq traded 1 2/3 billion shares and had an 8 to 7 negative volume ratio.

TheTechTrader.com board was mixed. Priceline.com (PCLN) was up 9.88 to 1554.99, Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) up a whopping 14.29 to 819.31, Apple Inc. (AAPL) up 8 cents to 120.08, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) 9.55 to 817.88, but Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) dropped 1.21 cents to 137.39.

Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) gained 2.47 to 175.91, Facebook, Inc. (FB) bounced 1.89 to 128.93, but First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) gave back 1.09 to 33.66.

Tesla Motors, Inc. (TSLA) jumped 4.19 to 248.92.

Other stocks to the upside included NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA), up 1.08 to 105.09, and Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (SUPN) up 1.25 to 24.70.

On the downside, the Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3X ETF (LABU) was down 1.35 to 35.92 in a weak biotech sector today.

Checking TheTechTrader.com percent-gain leaderboard, junior biotech Chimerix, Inc. (CMRX) popped 64 cents, or 13%, to 5.54, on 1.2 million shares traded.

Globus Maritime Limited (GLBS) gained 1.07, or 11%, to 10.776, on 5.8 million shares traded.

Gold did well today. The Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3X ETF (NUGT) advanced 84 cents, or 8%, to 10.98, on 56 million shares traded. The Direxion Daily Jr Gld Mnrs Bull 3X ETF (JNUG) ran 61 cents, or 7%, to 9.17, on 50 million shares traded.

Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, the indices opened with a little pop, they came down hard to support, rallied back to retest support, and it was actually taken out slightly at the end of the day, but they closed mixed.

It’s hard to determine where the market is headed from here.

Let’s see what happens tomorrow.

Good Trading!

Author

Harry Boxer

The Technical Trader

Regular columnist on ADVFN, Stockhouse, and DecisionPoint, among many sites, and regular guest on WinningOnWallStreet, Marketviews.tv, KFWB-Radio Los Angeles, and more. Frequent guest columnist on CBSMarketWatch.

EUR/USD hits two-day highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD picks up pace and reaches two-day tops around 1.1820 at the end of the week. The pair’s move higher comes on the back of renewed weakness in the US Dollar amid growing talk that the Fed could deliver an interest rate cut as early as March. On the docket, the flash US Consumer Sentiment improves to 57.3 in February.

GBP/USD reclaims 1.3600 and above

GBP/USD reverses two straight days of losses, surpassing the key 1.3600 yardstick on Friday. Cable’s rebound comes as the Greenback slips away from two-week highs in response to some profit-taking mood and speculation of Fed rate cuts. In addition, hawkish comments from the BoE’s Pill are also collaborating with the quid’s improvement.

Gold climbs further, focus is back to 45,000

Gold regains upside traction and surpasses the $4,900 mark per troy ounce at the end of the week, shifting its attention to the critical $5,000 region. The move reflects a shift in risk sentiment, driving flows back towards traditional safe haven assets and supporting the yellow metal.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP rebound amid risk-off, $2.6 billion liquidation wave

Bitcoin edges up above $65,000 at the time of writing on Friday, as dust from the recent macro-triggered sell-off settles. The leading altcoin, Ethereum, hovers above $1,900, but resistance at $2,000 caps the upside. Meanwhile, Ripple has recorded the largest intraday jump among the three assets, up over 10% to $1.35.

Three scenarios for Japanese Yen ahead of snap election

The latest polls point to a dominant win for the ruling bloc at the upcoming Japanese snap election. The larger Sanae Takaichi’s mandate, the more investors fear faster implementation of tax cuts and spending plans.

XRP rally extends as modest ETF inflows support recovery

Ripple is accelerating its recovery, trading above $1.36 at the time of writing on Friday, as investors adjust their positions following a turbulent week in the broader crypto market. The remittance token is up over 21% from its intraday low of $1.12.