Folks,
Market Observations for the Week: The QQQ rebounded from its low on Tuesday and gave us a 5-wave rally into Friday's close. The SPX finished an EW a-b-c correction into Wednesday afternoon and also rallied in 5-waves to make a multi-week high by Friday's close. The SPX has a tendency to pull back into the May 3 Fed Day and we expect the same this week with the RSI and MACD indicators bearish diverging on Friday. We could also see some negative news on FRC (first Republic Bank) on Monday that could spook the market. How the SPX and QQQ respond to the Fed action and statement is key this week. Gold gave us a monthly reversal candle in April which is bearish - the PM sector may have started an important correction. The USD may have given us a double bottom on the daily chart - if so, the bulls need to take control.
4/30/23 (Commentary for Sunday) The NDX and SPX gave us a minimal 5th wave rally from their lows last week and the markets are set up for a pullback on Monday. More negative banking news from First Republic Bank could give us some downside volatility. We are are expecting an intermediate top in the SPX in the first half of May and are looking for a possible "Sell in May and go away scenario". The SPX closed the week with a test of 4169 and 5-waves up from Wednesday. Big Tech earnings (MSFT, META and GOOGL) propelled the 5th wave higher even with a diminished overall market breadth. However, with the "rate of change" of the M2 money supply falling by -4% year over year, the US economy is now slowing fast because of the bank-led credit tightening and the stock market should feel the bite soon (the IWM is already feeling the bite as the small caps are the most sensitive to a credit tightening). Banking news could also take a turn for the worse if First Republic Bank goes under. We are looking for a potential 20% correction into late June but expect to be close to a 100% invested posture by early July at much lower levels in the SPX and NDX. Our cycle work is calling the SPX below 3500 by late June but the bulls are still in control in the short term. We still contend that the SPX market rally from October 13 is a Bear Market Rally that could make new lows in late Q2 2023 - we are not in the "this is a new bull market camp" - the bank failures argue for a hard economic landing as banks panic and tighten lending standards. Our Bear Market Time Window target in Q2 from the 20-yr cycle could take us for a test of SPX 3500 by late June. We did not see a SPX capitulation or a VIX blow off in 2022 but do believe that lower SPX lows are due by Q3 of 2023 for the stock market. The China reopening after its Covid lockdown should be bullish for crude oil at some point. Our current positions are 10% natural gas and wheat, 70% cash and 20% physical gold, silver and platinum.
Big Picture on Stocks (UPDATED) The latest black swan of bank failures could drive the 20-yr cycle to a test of SPX 3500 by late June. The SPX could still give us a 20%-50% correction in 2023 as the 20-yr stock cycle low bottoms and the US economy slows into a recession.
Big Picture on PMs (UPDATED) – Gold gave us an all-time high monthly and end-of-quarter price in March - this is a Sign of Strength - however, gold gave us a monthly reversal candlestick down in April (a gravestone Doji) and that is very negative. Central bankers loaded up on gold last year and global physical inventories continue to decline but higher nominal US rates could still pressure the PM sector down one more time into late Q2 2023.
Stocks – The SPX gave us 5-waves up into late Friday and a new short-term high at 4169 so we enter Monday with expectations for a monthly pullback into Fed Wednesday - a failure of First Republic bank over the weekend could be a catalyst.
Gold – Everybody seems bullish on gold here and that concerns us - gold gave us a monthly reversal candle for April which is very bearish. How we trade post-Fed and into Friday's NFP jobs report will set the trend.
Silver – Silver stocks tried to lead silver higher on Thursday and Friday and that is bullish.
Crude Oil – Crude oil bounced correctively to $75 today but XOM and CVX joined the SPX rally to some extent.
Dollar Index – The USD may have given us a double bottom on the daily but the bulls need to take control.
TURNING POINT DAY
The turn window for this week is 5/3-5/5 with the Fed Day and Friday's NFP jobs report.
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