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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)-Negative
MACD- Positive
Money Flow Index-MFI-Positive
More on the Market and the Economy:
Stocks closed lower on light volume on Friday ahead of the holiday, though the S&P 500 ended the week up .3%, marking its fifth consecutive weekly advance.
This week data will be released on consumer confidence and pending home sales.
The economy expanded at a slower pace in the third quarter, with GDP revised down slightly to 3.2% as consumer spending edged down to a still solid 2.2%.
Builder confidence edged up in December as measures of buyer traffic, current conditions and sales expectations posted gains. According to the NAHB, “with low unemployment rates, favorable demographics and a tight supply of existing home inventory, we can expect continued upward movement of the single-family construction sector next year”.
The Conference Board’s leading economic index rose .4% in November, “suggesting that solid economic growth will continue into the first half of 2018. In recent months, unemployment insurance claims have returned to pre-hurricane levels. In addition, improving financial indicators, new orders in manufacturing and historically high consumer sentiment have propelled the U.S. LEI even higher.”
Existing home sales jumped 5.6% in November to an annual rate of 5.81 million, marking the third consecutive monthly increase and strongest level since December 2006. According to the National Association of Realtors, “faster economic growth in recent quarters, the booming stock market and continuous job gains are fueling substantial demand for buying a home as 2017 comes to an end”.
The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast for fourth quarter growth slipped to 2.8% following the release of consumer spending data.
