Charting the S&P 500: Index Continues to Grind, but Money Is Moving

We can certainly give the S&P 500 the benefit of the doubt based on price action. If this is sideways consolidation after a sharp run up then the index is doing it right.

It is tough to be content with the markets moving in place, but if we simply look outside the big index we’ll notice that certain groups are quite strong while others are weakening. That is called rotation, which is a healthy condition where funds are moving around from sector to sector. Out of software, into retail, or out of semiconductors and into staples. As long as the funds stay in the equity market then it can “slosh” around.

As for the weekly chart, the S&P ended another week in a rather tight range. A 200-point range is not huge for an index price at 7500; that is only about 2.7%.

With the all-time highs only 1.5% away from current levels we could see a sharp move up into the next few weeks. Earnings season is here again, and full of optimism and hope. As a trader once asked me, “Do you really want to be short during earnings season?”

The indicators are still intact, with the MACD still on a buy signal and the stochastics (momentum) overbought. Money flow seems to be staying in place for now.

We’ll be watching the turnover the next few weeks to see if big money is being put to work at these current price levels.

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Posted by Bob Lang

Bob Lang is one of the country’s top options traders, an expert market technician, and a highly sought-after mentor and teacher. He is a private trader in equity and option markets and created his own hedge fund and options trading company called Explosive Options. He is also founder and Chief Options Analyst at Aztec Capital, LLC. He has been a regular contributor to TheStreet Pro's paid subscription products since 2009. Lang is both a short-term trader and long-term stock investor. He utilizes technical and fundamental analysis to find investment opportunities. His coverage for TheStreet Pro specializes in options trading, stock investing, and technical analysis. One of Lang’s claims to fame is his creation of the acronym FANG to describe the top tech companies at the time (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google). The acronym has since expanded considerably and is still widely used today. He is the author of the book “Know Your Options” and holds an MBA from the University of Redlands. When he’s not providing financial commentary for TheStreet, he can be found on the tennis court, reading, or traveling.

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