I have seen quite a few comments on twitter that this market is one of the most difficult to trade right now.
I do not go that far but I will say that the opportunities right now are few and far between. At least in the indexes. The back and forth with a downside bias right now makes it difficult to trade anything but very short swing trades.
30 min before the open the indexes are gapping higher. Of note BAC +.75% GS +.59% TLT -.27% USO -.47%
Slight bias up which reinforces the gap up. But slight is the key word.
We are getting ever so much closer to our break from Congress. It has been a pleasant break for the markets but that respite is about over and I expect turmoil once they get back Monday.
1st of all Congress runs at a completely different speed than Trump. Health Care and Tax Cuts, Trump would have had them both passed by now if he had his way.
Healthcare, however, is bogged down despite what you hear in the news. The sorry thing is it has not even gotten out of the house yet the first time! And Tax reform, Ryan just indicated it is a long way aways.
I am sure he got the message from his donors and special interests over this 2-week break.
Until special interests power in D.C. gets either watered down or eliminated the U.S. will be at a standstill in Congress. The President can only do so much by executive order.
So, the pendulum will go on with the Republicans getting control of all 3 branches and then because of their own ineptitude, self-destruct, and it will sway back to the Democrats to govern.
The problem with this system is that nothing gets done and the partisanship keeps increasing both in Congress and among the Citizens.
So, as I see it from an investing standpoint the party is about over for this long bull market. When of course is the key question. But any portfolio right now is high risk as I see it. When this U.S. debt explodes you had best be in good financial shape and not leveraged in any way.
It will not be a pretty sight.
I guess I woke up in a foul mood this morning reading over the above again but I do not see much I would change in the message.
The one bright spot in all of this chaos is that interest rates should stay low. And I say should. The Fed has no business tightening in this environment. They should be looking for ways to loosen to head off what is coming down the road.
I will be looking for a few short term swing longs if the breath is healthy in the markets this morning. Otherwise, I am in hibernation on trades until the debt ceiling chaos is over.
If you want to follow some of my trades along with my thoughts typically given after the open you can go to @rickjswings. Typically I talk about the overall day expected with the markets and also give some levels on the ES and NQ for failed breakout scalping.
It’s my private twitter feed for the stock market and its free. Sports Handicapping is the subscription-based part of this site. But considering the cost of joining it’s almost free:)
Good Luck Today
RickJ
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