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  3. Stock Market Outlook - 2021-03-21

Stock Market Outlook
For The Week Of March 21st= Downtrend

INDICATORS

    ADX Directional Indicators: Downtrend
    Price & Volume Action: Mixed
    Elliott Wave Analysis: Uptrend

ANALYSIS

The stock market outlook is still showing a downtrend; confirmation of the new uptrend hasn't happened yet. The back and forth of price action continues to create "whipsaw" effects (false signals and/or delay new ones).

Technical analysis of daily SPX prices

2021-03-21-SPX Trendline Analysis - Daily

The S&P500 ($SPX) trended lower last week. The ADX flipped back and forth between bullish and bearish readings during the week (ever so slightly), landing in bearish territory at the time of this post. For the price/volume signal, 2 more distribution days were added to the count, bringing the total to 9.

That level of selling isn't great for the start of a new rally, but the market as a couple more days to get its act together. Price is still above the 50-day, so the signal remains "mixed".

Technical analysis of daily SPX prices

2021-03-21-SPX Elliott Wave Analysis - Daily - Primary 1

The current Elliott Wave count shows the S&P is one wave into the Minor 5. I've seen many different counts, which is common when the market is trying to figure out which way it wants to go.

COMMENTARY

Last week, many readers took issue with the downtrend signal, because price had just reached an all time high. They're not "wrong" per se, as anyone looking at a 6 month or 1-year chart can see prices trending higher (myself included). Not to mention how counter-intuitive it is in the face of a massive government stimulus, direct payments to taxpayers, continued bond purchases by the Fed, and a reopening economy.

The questions are actually a good sign; they mean readers are thinking for themselves and aren't blindly following any one signal.

The purpose of the Weekend Market Outlook series is to provide an example of how using rules can limit risk when they're part of a repeatable decision-making process. That means showing the good with the bad; when rules work and when they don't. Unfortunately, any rule that limits losses can also limit gains.

If I adjust a signal because I don't like it, I've changed the rules for that one point in time. The "process" is no longer "mechanical" (i.e. repeatable), which makes back-testing and evaluating performance more difficult.

Instead, at the end of each year, I analyze whether the system reduced risk and if adjusting the rules could improve long-term performance. Sometimes new rules are better, sometimes they aren't. At this point, I'm assuming an adjustment will be needed, but you know what people say when you assume.

For current events, this week is the one year anniversary of the bottom for the pandemic sell-off. While things are definitely NOT back to normal (unemployment, masks, and vaccines, oh my), the main concern has shifted to interest rates, as treasury yields continue to rise.

Investors and traders are focused on the 10-year as a sign of inflation. Central banks continue to make the case for keeping interest rates low, and that higher inflation will be tolerated for a while.

Some argue that interest rates aren't really signaling high inflation as much as they are just returning to normal. Regardless, increasing interest rates are bad news for stocks with valuations that rely heavily on future earnings for any chance at profitability (we're looking at you SPACs).

Best to Your Week!


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If you're interested in learning more about the relationship between price and volume, or how to find and trade the best stocks for your growth strategy, check out this book on Amazon via the following affiliate link:

How to Make Money in Stocks: A Winning System in Good Times and Bad.

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Charts provided courtesy of stockcharts.com.

For historical Elliott Wave Analysis, go to ELLIOTT WAVE lives on by Tony Caldaro. Other interpretations can be found at: Pretzel Logic, Daneric's Elliott Waves, and 12345ABCDEWXYZ

Once a year, I review the market outlook signals as if they were a mechanical trading system, while pointing out issues and making adjustments. The goal is to give you to give you an example of how to analyze and continuously improve your own systems.

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