Systems Must Be Repeatable & Teachable

Like a high-stakes battlefield shuffled anew, last week’s market action unfolded with historic magnitude even though the week began in disarray. Was it a historic charge…or a bear trap...for markets and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)? Here are my thoughts, says Buff Dormeier, chief technical analyst at Kingsview Partners.

At the close of trading on April 8, many of the US equity market benchmarks posted their steepest declines during this nearly two-month long selloff. The S&P 500 was deep in correction territory, off nearly 19%. Even though more is needed for an all-clear market condition, green shoots have begun to appear, advises Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.

What a painful week it was. For BONDS, that is! And I have four key takeaways for traders watching Treasuries tank.

Wall Street is entering the Q1 reporting season on a wobbly note as the imposition of tariffs has introduced significant volatility into the markets, leading to concerns about a potential recession. Results from a recent InvestingPro screen weren’t very encouraging, either, writes Jesse Cohen, senior financial analyst at Investing.

While the stock market is washed out, it recently was very oversold on many timeframes and sentiment remained awful. That could be the cause of days like Wednesday, when there was a big pop. But there is still plenty to worry about when looking at the technical condition of the market, notes John Eade, president of Argus Research.

What’s it going to take to get a real, LASTING rally in the stock market? Cooperation!

Successful investors rely on data and rules, not headlines or rumors. They have a plan and stick to it religiously. My benchmarks are the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX). I buy at the Trend Seeker “Buy” signal and sell at the 50-week moving average, advises Jim Van Meerten, analyst at Barchart.

There can be volumes written about this trade war situation. My objective is to assess the stock market reaction. Here’s how the last few days went down as we talked about the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) in our Trading Room, writes Hugh Grossman, founder of DayTradeSPY.

Want to know how seasoned traders navigate wild volatility without losing their edge? In this episode of the MoneyShow MoneyMasters Podcast, we’re joined by husband-and-wife trading pros Bruce Marshall, senior director of options and income trading at Simpler Trading, and Tammy Marshall, Fibonacci technical analyst at ElliottWaveTrader.net.

Sure, we’re seeing plenty of volatility in the STOCK market. But wild swings and big moves aren’t just confined to equities anymore.

This past week, the market’s price trend finally aligned with its volume trends, which broke down a month earlier. One more item of note: Volume on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) surged to levels not seen since January 2022. This massive SPY volume may indicate a volume sentiment setup for a capitulation bottom, observes Buff Dormeier, chief technical analyst at Kingsview Partners.

What had been a mediocre, oversold rally failed right where such rallies normally do several days ago -- at the declining 20-day moving average. Then everything changed to a much more bearish scenario after President Trump's announcement of tariffs. Be sure to roll deeply in-the-money options, says Lawrence McMillan, editor at Option Strategist.