DJIA makes paces upward, but is weighed by tech and financials slumps

U.S. indexes are seeing upward movement based mainly on equities- particularly health-care stocks and consumer-discretionary sectors. Tech and financials slipped, notably Apple Inc. (AAPL). Google is set for a highly-anticipated release of a series of devices, including its Pixel phones. The Pixel phones will be in focus as they are looked at as an iPhone rival. Apple saw a share drop of 1.2% in early Wednesday trading. Toward the end of this week, market participants will be looking toward a Friday nonfarm payrolls report. In typical fashion, this report follows a recent September private-sector jobs data. The data showed slowed growth, with an addition of 135,000 jobs.

At the time of publication, the DJIA is up 0.09%, or 20.63 points, at 22,662. The S&P 500 is trading at 2,539- up 0.18% from the open. The Nasdaq-100 is down 0.12% at 6,539.

Using the ^GSPC symbol to analyze the S&P 500, our 10-day prediction window shows  slight negative signals. Today’s negative vector figure of -0.02% moves to -0.30% in three trading sessions.  Today’s predicted support and resistance is 2,518.44 (± 2.75) and 2,539.23 (± 2.78), respectively. The predicted close today is 2,534.55. Prediction data is uploaded after market close at 6 p.m., CST. Today’s data is based on market signals from the previous trading session.  

Highlight of a Recent Winning Trade

On October 2, our ActiveTrader service- included in all of our membership plans- generated a Bearish recommendation for Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD).

Trade Breakdown

Within the first hour of trading, AMD passed through the Entry 1 price of $12.76 (± 0.09) and reached its Target of $11.63 within the first four hours of the trading session. The Stop Loss was set at $12.89.

Must-buy Stock for Thursday

General Motors Co. (GM) is our must-buy stock for Thursday. Following a strong U.S sales report for its Ford brand, the stock is incrementally building positive signals in our Stock Forecast Toolbox’s 10-day forecast.  Our 10-day prediction model shows positive vector signals building from +0.89% to above +2.10% within four trading sessions.

The stock is trading at $43.80 at the time of publication, up 0.81% from the open with a +0.89% vector figure.

Thursday’s prediction shows an open price of $43.95, a low of $43.54 and a high of $44.42.

The predicted close for Thursday is $43.79. Vector figures show +1.41% for Thursday, which continue to rise from there.  

Prediction data is uploaded after market close at 6 p.m., CST. Today’s data is based on market signals from the previous trading session.

Note: The Vector figures calculate the change of the Forecasted Average Price relative to “today’s” actual price. The figure shows expected average price movement “Up or Down”, in percent. Trend traders should trade along predicted direction of the Vector. The higher the value of the Vector the higher its momentum.

Oil

Crude oil prices are climbing today, as U.S. domestic crude inventories dropped by a rate four times greater than expected. This is working to counter lingering anxieties around recent news that OPEC production cut compliance is dropping. While this compliance rate issue is worrying to investors, most are expecting the OPEC deal to be extended through March 2018.  West Texas Intermediate for November delivery is priced at $50.44 per barrel at the time of publication, up 0.04% from the open.  

Looking at USO, a crude oil tracker, our 10-day prediction model shows consistent positive signals. The fund is trading at $10.17 at the time of publication, which is down 0.10% from the open. Today’s prediction sees support at $10.18 (± 0.04) and resistance at $10.35 (± 0.04). The predicted close for today is $10.32. Vector figures show +0.56% today, building above +2% within the next trading session.  Prediction data is uploaded after market close at 6 p.m., CST. Today’s data is based on market signals from the previous trading session.   

Gold

The price for December gold is up 0.12% at $1,277.00 a troy ounce at the time of publication. The upturn is expected to be a short-turn gain, as we’re seeing strong U.S. manufacturing data reflected in a heightened ISM index. Market participants are also pricing in the anticipated Fed interest rate hike in the near future. What’s working to support the non-fiat metal currently is a dip in the ICE U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which is down 0.17% at the time of publication.  Gold prices tend to move inversely with the U.S. dollar- the currency in which the metal is denominated.

Using SPDR GOLD TRUST (GLD) as a tracker in our Stock Forecast Tool, the 10-day prediction window shows consistent negative signals. The gold proxy is trading at $121.01, up 0.15% at the time of publication. Today’s predicted low is $120.23 (± 0.24) and the predicted high is $120.83 (± 0.24). The predicted close today is $120.28. Prediction data is uploaded after market close at 6 p.m., CST. Today’s data is based on market signals from the previous trading session.   

Treasuries

Yields are seeing downward pressure today as bond prices rise before Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen gives a speech today at 3:15 p.m. Eastern.  Investors will be looking to these remarks to gauge sentiment and clues around monetary policy and future rate hikes. This week is full of economic data as well, so focus is shifting to those reports in order to gauge economic conditions. At the same time, U.S. market indexes are trading up and equities are performing well.  The yield on the 10-year Treasury note is up 0.56% at 2.33% at the time of publication. Bond prices tend to move inversely to yields.

Using the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) as a proxy for bond prices in our Stock Forecast Tool, we see slight but consistent negative signals in our 10-day prediction window. Today’s vector of +0.06% moves to -0.45% within three trading sessions. The ETF is priced at $124.14 at the time of publication- down 0.21% from the open. The predicted close today is $124.20 with a low and high of $123.29 (± 0.19) and $124.56 (± 0.19), respectively.  Prediction data is uploaded after market close at 6 p.m., CST. Today’s data is based on market signals from the previous trading session.

Volatility

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is up 1.37% to 9.64 at the time of publication, and our 10-day prediction window shows consistent negative signals. The predicted close today is 9.71 with a negative vector of -0.08%. Today’s predicted lows and highs are 9.42 (± 0.18) and 9.78 (± 0.18), respectively. Prediction data is uploaded after market close at 6 p.m., CST. Today’s data is based on market signals from the previous trading session.