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Market Direction Is Important –
Updated Chart of the S&P 500 and Secondary Signals
Of our Four secondary indicators under our MTI:
Relative Strength Index (RSI)-Positive
Chaikin Money Flow (CMF)-Positive
MACD- Positive
Money Flow Index-MFI-Positive
More on the Market and the Economy:
The S&P 500 started 2018 out with a 2.6% weekly gain, marking its best week since November 2016 and finishing the week at a new record high.
Source: dshort.com
This week data will be released on small business optimism, retail sales, consumer prices and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.
The release of the Fed’s FOMC meeting minutes showed that most officials support a “gradual approach to raising the target range” for interest rates, though the pace of hikes could be slower if inflation doesn’t move towards the target. According to the minutes, “While participants generally saw the risks to the economic outlook as roughly balanced, they agreed that inflation developments should be monitored closely”.
Job growth slowed in December as the economy added 148,000 jobs while the unemployment rate held at 4.1%. The decline was the result of retailers cutting 20,300 jobs.
The trade deficit widened 3.2% to $50.5 billion in November, the largest gap since 2012, as imports rose 2.5% to $250.7 billion.
Source: Census Bureau
The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast for fourth quarter growth fell to 2.7% following the release of the jobs report.
