Market Update

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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:

1. Relative Strength Index (RSI)-Positive

2. Chaikin Money Flow (CMF)-Negative

3. MACD- Positive

4. Money Flow Index-MFI-Positive

More on the Market and the Economy:

Stocks closed higher on the first day of September, with the S&P 500 closing the week up 1.4% after logging a .1% gain for August, marking its fifth consecutive monthly gain.

This week data will be released on the service sector, the trade deficit and the Fed’s Beige Book.

The economy added 156,000 jobs in August while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.4% after falling to a 16-year low in July.

The economy expanded 3% in the second quarter, with GDP revised up from a previous estimate of 2.6%, as gains in business investment and consumer spending led to the strongest growth in over two years.

Consumer spending ramped up .3% in July, as Americans purchased more home furnishings and spent more at restaurants and hotels.

Pending home sales slipped .8% in July, marking the fourth decline in five months, as low inventory continued to weigh on the market. According to the National Association of Realtors, “pending sales were weaker in most areas in July as house hunters saw limited options for sale and highly competitive market conditions. The housing market remains stuck in a holding pattern with little signs of breaking through. The pace of new listings is not catching up with what’s being sold at an astonishingly fast pace”.

Manufacturing ramped up in August at the fastest pace since 2011, led by gains in employment and order backlog.

The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast for third quarter growth slipped to 3.2% following the release of construction spending and employment data.