For months, investors have been on edge over U.S.-China tariff tensions, bracing for everything from fears of empty shelves to rising prices. But after this weekend’s trade talks, where both sides agreed to temporary tariff cuts (emphasis on temporary), stocks surged.

On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) jumped 1,160 points, while the S&P 500 ($SPX) and Nasdaq Composite ($COMPQ) rallied 3.26% and 4.35%, respectively.

Monday’s rally sparked hopes that the worst may be over. Yet analysts remain split: some see signs of a bottom, while others warn this 90-day pause is just the start of a long, messy negotiation.

So here’s the critical question: If this is the bottom, which sector (or industry) leads the rebound, and is it worth investing in it right now? For investors, the answer could be the difference between riding the next bull wave or watching it pass by.

Nasdaq-100 Shows Strength, but Which Sector Leads?

Checking StockCharts’ Market Summary midday on Monday, the Breadth panel showed that the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 ($NDX) had the most percentage of stocks (62%) trading above their 200-day simple moving average (SMA), indicating early strength and recovery (displayed in the Moving Averages tab).

FIGURE 1. MARKET SUMMARY – INDICES TRADING ABOVE 20 TO 200-DAY MOVING AVERAGES. The Nasdaq 100 is the most bullish index above the 200-day, warranting a closer examination.

About 51% of the Nasdaq 100 is made up of Information Technology stocks, while Consumer Discretionary and Communication Services together account for roughly 31% of the index.

Information Technology Dominates the Index

To get a clearer sense of market breadth, it’s useful to examine the sector-level Bullish Percent Index (BPI), which shows the percentage of stocks within each sector exhibiting technical strength.

FIGURE 2. MARKET SUMMARY SECTOR BULLISH PERCENT INDEX. While many sectors have bullish BPIs, the tech sector is leading.

While Communications and Discretionary are exhibiting technical strength, the Information Technology sector is leading the pack, with over 91% of stocks triggering Point & Figure buy signals.

Semiconductors: The Bellwether to Watch

While tech is also comprised of various industries, only one—semiconductors—is widely regarded as a “bellwether” industry. Shifting over to the US Industries panel, semiconductors displayed the highest StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR).

FIGURE 3. BELLWETHER INDUSTRY SCTR SCORES. Among the bellwether industries listed, chipmakers are outpacing everything else.

While my threshold for bullish SCTR reading is 76, the semiconductor industry is the only bellwether industry that clears that bar.

But what might the performance of the Nasdaq 100, semiconductor, and broader market performance look like side by side? To answer this question, I plotted all three on a one-year PerfCharts view.

 FIGURE 4. PERFCHARTS OF SEMICONDUCTORS, NASDAQ 100, AND THE S&P 500. Here, semiconductors aren’t looking so hot, being the laggard of the bunch.

Using VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) as the industry proxy, you can see that SMH was leading the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 last summer, but began lagging the two indexes starting in November. SMH was the hardest hit in the aftermath of the Trump tariffs, and, while it’s recovering, its performance is still trailing both indices.

This raises two key questions: First, is SMH’s upswing a true recovery or a temporary bounce? And second, is it worth investing in SMH in this stage of the cycle (in other words, does it present an opportunity to catch an uptrend early on)?

Weekly Chart Signals: Bear Market Drop or Recovery?

Let’s take a closer look at SMH, starting with a weekly chart.

FIGURE 5. WEEKLY CHART OF SMH. From a primary trend perspective, one that can last years, the uptrend is arguably intact, though facing challenges.

Here are the key points to look at:

• SMH is trading above the 40-week SMA (equivalent to a 200-day SMA) following a sharp price gap up. But can it hold above that level?
• SMH plunged 39.8% from its 2024 high of around $280 to the 2025 low of $170. This is a textbook bear market drop that raises the question: Is this latest surge just a bear market rally?
• On the other hand, a long-term Fibonacci Retracement measured from the 2022 low to the 2024 high found support at the 50% and 61.8% retracement levels. This kind of pullback is not only “normal”, but also supports the view that SMH’s bullish “primary trend” is still intact.
• However, the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) is signaling weak buying pressure. For the rally to continue, there needs to be stronger accumulation, something the CMF has yet to confirm.

Daily Chart View: Support, Resistance, and Warning Signs

After looking at SMH from a broader scale, what might the price action reveal if we were to zoom in using a daily chart?

FIGURE 6. DAILY CHART OF SMH. Zooming in, SMH’s situation looks even less bullish.

This chart tells a tougher story: SMH looks ready to re-enter the months-long trading range it broke to the downside in March.

Should You Invest In SMH? Here’s What to Watch

To answer this question, here’s some points you might want to focus on:

For one, note how closely the stochastic oscillator cycles mirror SMH’s fluctuations. With a reading above 96, SMH may be due for a near-term pullback.

Should it pull back, SMH will need to remain above or bounce at the $210 support range (highlighted in blue) for the current, albeit small, uptrend to remain intact. Below that, it might bounce at the consecutive swing lows—$185 and $170—but such a deep pullback indicates weakness and raises the possibility that SMH may slip back into the trading range (highlighted in yellow) that dominated a lengthy five-month period.

On the upside, SMH needs to eventually clear that same range before challenging its all-time highs at the $281 level. If SMH manages to do so, it’s likely to unfold in a series of higher highs and higher lows, which will take some time to develop.

At the Close: A Bullish Setup or Bull Trap?

While SMH has begun to exhibit significant technical strength, warning signs remain. If you’re bullish on semiconductors, the next few weeks will be critical. Holding the $210 support zone is key for keeping the uptrend intact. A drop toward $185 or $170 would raise serious doubts about the sustainability of the current rally.

If SMH can clear its trading range and build a structure of higher highs and higher lows, it could be poised to challenge its all-time highs once again. Until then, stay cautious and keep a close eye on the technical levels discussed above.

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

We’ve been cautious about the uptrend phase off the April low for a number of reasons, including the lack of breadth support.  While short-term measures of breadth had turned more positive, the long-term breadth conditions had remained firmly in the bearish realm.  With the renewed strength in risk assets over the last week, our long-term breadth measures now indicate a healthy uptrend phase.  

Today we’ll dive a little deeper into one of those breadth indicators, talk about why we track moving average breadth, and show how this recent bullish signal could be a sign of stronger price action to come.

Here we’re showing the S&P 500 on a closing basis along with its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.  Below that, we’re tracking the percent of S&P 500 stocks above their 200-day moving average, followed by the percent of stocks above their 50-day moving average.

Starting at the bottom, we can see that less than 10% of S&P 500 members were above their 50-day moving average at the April 2025 low.  The last time we had reached below the 10% level was back in October 2023, just before a significant market bottom.

While the surge in this short-term breadth indicator over the last month has suggested a tactical rally, the panel above shows how there were still less than 50% of S&P 500 members above their 200-day moving average.  So most stocks had regained the short-term moving average, but were still languishing below the long-term moving average.

As risk assets have surged higher this week, it’s meant enough upside momentum that now most S&P 500 members are back above their 200-day moving average.  Now let’s look at a longer-term time frame and consider previous instances where this long-term moving average breadth indicator has gone from below 25% to above 50%.

We’ve identified eight occurrences of this pattern since the 2009 market low.  In all eight occurrences, the S&P 500 has experienced positive returns in the next 12 months.  And with the exception of the signal in October 2015, we haven’t seen any retest of the previous swing low.

Let’s dig into that 2015 example a little further, and you’ll see what differentiated that particular signal from all the others.

In all the other occurrences, the S&P 500 broke above its 200-day moving average and held that crucial level of support.  In Q4 2015, however, the S&P 500 failed to hold the 200-day moving average, and the breadth indicators soon rotated back to a bearish phase.

It took another attempt in March 2016 before the chart finally resolved to the upside, with the S&P 500 leaving the 200-day moving average behind as it continued to push higher.  Breadth indicators continued to improve as investors began to believe in the bull market of 2016.

I was taught that “nothing good happens below the 200-day moving average,” which also implies that good things can definitely happen above this long-term trend barometer.  At this point, given the bullish breadth rotation that we’ve observed off the April low, I would say that as long as the S&P 500 remains above its 200-day moving average, then we stand a serious chance of further upside from here.

If, however, the SPX fails to hold this crucial line of support, and the index falls back below the 5750 level, then we may be looking at more of a 2015-style retracement as fears rise and stocks drop.

RR#6,

Dave

PS- Ready to upgrade your investment process?  Check out my free behavioral investing course!

David Keller, CMT

President and Chief Strategist

Sierra Alpha Research LLC

marketmisbehavior.com

https://www.youtube.com/c/MarketMisbehavior

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice.  The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.  

The author does not have a position in mentioned securities at the time of publication.    Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.

Let’s be honest. Did anyone think a little more than a month ago that the S&P 500 was primed for a 1000-point rebound? I turned bullish at that April 7th bottom a month ago, but I did not see this type of massive recovery so quickly.

Why does this happen?

I believe these panicked selloffs occur, because the big Wall Street firms get out prior to market massacres and they need to get back in. What’s the best way to accumulate shares? To send out your best market influencers (oops, I meant analysts) to drive home the pain and misery that’s coming. I mean, just ask the media outlets. They were the ones responsible for all those terrorizing headlines. And market makers added panic by opening stocks much, much lower from previous days’ closes on many occasions this year.

Want some evidence?

Well, let’s go back in time and zero in on the more aggressive QQQ (ETF that tracks the NASDAQ 100):

At the very bottom, when the most manipulation takes place, we see massive gaps to the downside that create opportunities for Wall Street firms to buy in much, much cheaper as retail traders panic sell into those falling gaps. The massive volume that accompanies capitulation makes it very easy for market makers to buy lots of shares on their own behalf and on behalf of their institutional clients. This institutional buying is reflected by higher prices intraday. Looking at the above chart, the QQQ tumbled 52.46 (476.15-423.69) over 3 trading days. But the total gap downs over those 3 days were 46.26, nearly 90% of the entire 3-day meltdown. This wasn’t a distribution period or a selling event, it was a MARKET MAKER MANIPULATION EVENT.

Want an even more telling stat? From the March 13th close (467.64) to the Friday, May 9th close (487.97), the QQQ gained roughly 20 bucks. Here’s the breakdown of how the QQQ traded on an intraday basis over this 2-month period:

• Opening gaps: -42.31
• 9:30-10:00: +19.18
• 10:00-11:00: +6.72
• 11:00-2:00: +21.86
• 2:00-4:00: +14.13

During a period when the QQQ gained roughly 20 bucks, the cumulative opening gaps were -42 bucks. That means that the QQQ saw buying to the tune of 62 bucks during the trading day. Panicked retailers took the market makers’ bait and sold with all the media-related nonsense, while market makers were secretly buying for all their Wall Street colleagues and buddies.

If you’re sitting in cash right now, wondering when to get back in, I can promise you that you’re not alone. This 2025 “massacre” and “shocking rebound” were planned all along. Wall Street’s rotation into defensive areas of the market had me and many EarningsBeats.com members in cash back in January and early February. They absolutely knew this was coming, but media outlets weren’t telling us back then to get out. They waited for the fear to kick in before posting their ridiculously-bearish headlines over and over and over again – forcing retail traders to say “Uncle!!!!!”

This is what I refer to as “legalized thievery.” It’s how our financial system works unfortunately. You either learn how to play defense against it or periodically suffer the consequences. At EarningsBeats.com, we choose the former.

How To Build A Winning Portfolio

Now that the manipulation is in our rear view mirror and the S&P 500 looks to move back into all-time high territory, it’s very important to understand the best way to outperform the benchmark S&P 500. That’s what we strive to do over time and we’ve been very successful at it. This Saturday, May 17th, at 10:00am ET, I’ll be hosting a webinar to show you how to successfully build a portfolio that outperforms over time. One part of this webinar will be dedicated to highlighting the keys to spotting the 2025 cyclical bear market and determining the best time frame to jump back in. We’ve made these calls in real time during 2025, from our MarketVision 2025 event in early January to my Daily Market Reports to EB members to my StockCharts blog articles to my YouTube shows hosted by both EarningsBeats.com and StockCharts.com. It’s extremely important that we learn from difficult periods in the stock market so that we’re better prepared for the next one.

Don’t allow Wall Street to manipulate you. I’m going to show you the best way(s) to avoid it when it occurs again. And it WILL happen again. CLICK HERE to learn more, register for our “How To Build A Winning Portfolio” and save your seat. If you cannot make the event live on Saturday, you’ll receive a recording of the event to listen to at your leisure simply by registering. So register NOW!

Happy trading!

Tom

In this in-depth walkthrough, Grayson introduces the brand-new Market Summary Dashboard, an all-in-one resource designed to help you analyze the market with ease, speed, and depth. Follow along as Grayson shows how to take advantage of panels, mini-charts, and quick scroll menus to maximize your StockCharts experience.

This video originally premiered on May 12, 2025. Click on the above image to watch on our dedicated Grayson Roze page on StockCharts TV.

You can view previously recorded videos from Grayson at this link.

Amid ever-increasing uncertainties on the global front and similarly rising geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan, the Indian equity markets demonstrated strong resilience. They consolidated before ending the week on just a modestly negative note. The trading range remained modest; the Nifty oscillated in a 590-point range. While the markets defended their key support levels, the volatility surged. The volatility barometer, the India Vix, spiked 18.49% to 21.63 on a weekly basis.. The headline index finally closed with a net weekly loss of 338.70 points (-1.39%).

A few important things to note from a technical perspective. The 200-DMA is at 24044; the 50-week MA is at 23983. This makes the zone of 23950-24050 a very important support zone for the Nifty. So long as the Index is able to defend this zone, it will continue consolidating in a defined range. Incremental weakness would creep in only if the 23900 level is violated decisively. On the higher side, as evident from the charts, the markets have continued to resist the rising trendline resistance. From now on, the Nift’s behavior vis-à-vis the zone of 23950-24050 would be crucially important to watch; the Index’s ability to defend or not defend this zone will dictate the trend over the coming weeks.

The levels of 24350 and 24600 are expected to act as probable resistance points in the coming week. The supports are at 23900 and 23630.

The weekly RSI is 54.36; it stays neutral and does not diverge against the price. The weekly MACD is bullish and stays above its signal line. A bearish engulfing candle has emerged. Its emergence near a pattern resistance adds credibility to the resistance placed near 24500-24600.

The pattern analysis of both daily and weekly charts shows that the Nifty has traded quite on the expected lines and within the analyzed range. It has continued resisting the rising trendline resistance near 24500-24600; it has so far defended the key that is created between the 200-DMA and the 50-week MA. The markets would weaken only if they violate the crucial 23900 level; so long as this point stays defended, we can expect the markets to consolidate in a defined range.

Based on the overall technical structure, it is likely that the markets will not see any immediate upward trend. While if the markets end up breaching the 23900 level remains to be seen, it is doubtful that they will initiate any sustainable trending upmove and move past the 24500 levels soon. The hedging activity and the cost of hedging have increased; this is evident from Vix, which has significantly risen over the past few days. While the Nifty has defended the key support levels so far, it remains in a technically challenging environment. It is strongly recommended that the market participants adopt a defensive approach by focusing on the low beta stocks and the stocks with improving relative strength. Staying low on leveraged positions, a continued cautious outlook is advised for the coming week.

Sector Analysis for the coming week

In our look at Relative Rotation Graphs®, we compared various sectors against the CNX500 (NIFTY 500 Index), representing over 95% of the free-float market cap of all the listed stocks. 

Relative Rotation Graphs (RRG) show that the Nifty PSE Index has rolled inside the leading quadrant. Infrastructure, Nifty Bank, PSU Bank, FMCG, Consumption, Commodities, and the Financial Services Indices are also inside the leading quadrant. These groups are likely to outperform the broader Nifty 500 Index relatively.

The Nifty Metal Index has rolled inside the weakening quadrant. This may cause the sector to slow down and give up on its relative performance. The Services Sector index also remains in this quadrant.

While the Nifty IT Index continues to languish in the lagging quadrant, the Auto and the Realty Indices are sharply improving their relative momentum against the broader markets while staying inside this quadrant.

The Nifty Midcap 100 index has rolled inside the improving quadrant; may see its relative performance bettering over the coming days. The Media and the Energy Indices are also inside this quadrant, and may continue seeing improvement in their relative performance against the broader markets.

Important Note: RRG charts show the relative strength and momentum of a group of stocks. In the above Chart, they show relative performance against NIFTY500 Index (Broader Markets) and should not be used directly as buy or sell signals.  

Milan Vaishnav, CMT, MSTA

Consulting Technical Analyst

www.EquityResearch.asia | www.ChartWizard.ae

Is a recession coming? In this video, Julius breaks down the latest updates to his powerful Sector Rotation Model, analyzing four key macroeconomic indicators and their impact on sector performance.

This video was originally published on May 9, 2025. Click on the icon above to view on our dedicated page for Julius.

Past videos from Julius can be found here.

#StayAlert, -Julius

Want to know where the stock market is headed next? In this week’s market update, Mary Ellen McGonagle analyzes key resistance levels and reveals what’s fueling the current uptrend. She highlights top bullish setups among U.S. leadership stocks, plus global names showing strength.

This video originally premiered May 9, 2025. You can watch it on our dedicated page for Mary Ellen’s videos.

New videos from Mary Ellen premiere weekly on Fridays. You can view all previously recorded episodes at this link.

If you’re looking for stocks to invest in, be sure to check out the MEM Edge Report! This report gives you detailed information on the top sectors, industries and stocks so you can make informed investment decisions.

Robinhood Markets, Inc. (HOOD) is back in the spotlight, wrestling with its four-year highs and turning heads on Wall Street. It debuted in 2021 as an IPO darling, capturing the imagination of young Gen Z traders before its dramatic fall as a meme stock fueled by crypto and an unhealthy dose of FOMO.

Now, with year-to-date gains outpacing the S&P 500 ($SPX), the former disruptor is looking to claim its space as a serious contender rather than a speculative fad.

Robinhood Stock’s Price Action: Breaking Out or Topping Out?

If you’ve been checking the StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) Reports, you’ve probably noticed the stock popping up on the Large Cap Top 10 list.

FIGURE 1. SCTR REPORT LARGE CAP TOP 10. Robinhood is second from the top.

If you’re eyeing HOOD, you’re likely asking two key questions: How is it performing relative to its Financials sector peers, and how strong is the sector itself in terms of market breadth? Just as important, you’ll want a longer-term view: How has the stock held up over time, both on its own and compared to the broader S&P 500?

Let’s tackle all those questions in one shot.

Financial Sector Breadth Shows Bullish Tailwinds for HOOD

The chart below, which tracks the Financial Sector Bullish Percent Index, offers a quick read on sector strength and market positioning.

NOTE: The BPI spans three years.

FIGURE 2. FINANCIAL SECTOR BPI. Market breadth and comparative price performance look exceedingly bullish.

From a breadth perspective, the Financial sector looks bullish, bordering on overbought, with over 82% of the stocks within the sector triggering Point & Figure Buy Signals, according to its Bullish Percent Index (BPI) reading. Meanwhile, HOOD is crushing it on a 3-year relative basis—outperforming its sector by 250% and the S&P 500 by nearly 300%.

This paints a bullish picture. But before jumping to conclusions, let’s take a step back and look at HOOD’s price history, going back to when it IPO’d in 2021.

From Meme Craze to Measured Recovery

Check out the weekly chart below.

FIGURE 3. WEEKLY CHART OF HOOD. It’s above the 10-week and 40-week SMAs, but it has quite a distance to go before testing its yearly high.

You don’t need annotations to spot where HOOD’s meme-stock frenzy peaked and where the crash began, fueled by a sharp drop in retail trading activity, crypto market volatility, and intensifying regulatory pressure.

After basing for two years, HOOD began picking up steam in 2024. Its improving technical strength is reflected in the sharp spike of its SCTR, breaking above the 90 line. Fundamentally, HOOD began to recover as it started raking in profits, expanding its product lineup, and reigniting its user growth.

It’s trading above its 10-week and 40-week simple moving average (SMA), which is equivalent to a 50-day and 200-day SMA, respectively. Still, it has quite a way to go before testing its high of $66.90.

Short-Term Trading Setup

If you’re looking to buy HOOD, you’ll need to zoom in to find favorable entry points. Let’s switch over to a daily chart.

FIGURE 4. DAILY CHART OF HOOD. Support levels are clear and accumulation looks promising.

HOOD was in an intermediate-term downtrend starting in early February, where it peaked at $66.90, all the way down to the early part of April, where it bottomed sharply at around $29. HOOD quickly recovered, breaking above $50 (a local swing high) to $54, where it is now (at the time of writing).

Can HOOD Hold Its Gains or Is Consolidation Coming?

The Stochastic Oscillator warns that HOOD may be overbought and due for a pullback. Here are a couple of scenarios to consider, and note that the Ichimoku Cloud visually provides a wider range of potential support:

• Watch for support at $46 or $39, both recent swing lows.
• If it stalls between those levels, it could signal a failed breakout and continued consolidation until a new catalyst emerges.
• If it drops below $39, the next key level is at $29, but be a little cautious at that point, as such a deep retracement may indicate weakening momentum, sentiment, and fundamental weakness.

On the bullish side of things, the Accumulation/Distribution Line (ADL), currently well above the price, is indicating strong accumulation, suggesting that demand is outpacing supply—which, if it continues, can drive prices higher.

At the Close

Robinhood’s stock price is showing real signs of strength, not just on a chart, but in its fundamentals. With relative performance beating its sector and the S&P 500, and strong accumulation under the surface, HOOD’s comeback narrative is gaining technical validation. But with overbought signals flashing and key support levels in play, the next move may depend on whether bulls defend the breakout, or if the stock consolidates further while waiting for its next catalyst.

In either case, keep a close eye on volume, momentum shifts, and those support zones. HOOD may still have more room to run, but timing your entry could make all the difference.

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

In this video, Joe shares how to trade MACD signals using multiple timeframes, and how to spot stock market pullback setups that can help to pinpoint a great entry off a low. He then reviews sector performance to identify market leadership, covers key chart patterns, and discusses a looming bearish signal on QQQ and IWM. The video wraps with technical analysis on popular viewer-submitted stock symbols, including REAL, PSTG, and more.

The video premiered on May 7, 2025. Click this link to watch on Joe’s dedicated page.

Archived videos from Joe are available at this link. Send symbol requests to stocktalk@stockcharts.com; you can also submit a request in the comments section below the video on YouTube. Symbol Requests can be sent in throughout the week prior to the next show.

The stock market’s action on Wednesday was a bit like trying to pick a dinner spot with friends—lots of back and forth, but no real direction.

The market started out higher and went up and down without much of a directional bias until the Fed made its expected interest rate decision and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference. Stock prices dipped lower, but right before the close, another headline moving event surfaced: President Trump announced the rollback of some chip-related restrictions. This news gave the market a boost into the close.

Here’s how the broader indexes closed:

• The Dow Industrials ($INDU) finished up 0.70%.
• The S&P 500 ($SPX) rose 0.43%.
• The Nasdaq Composite ($COMPQ) added 0.27%.

Tech Leads, but Alphabet Takes a Hit

In terms of sector performance, Technology came out on top, followed by Consumer Discretionary and Health Care. On the flip side, Real Estate, Communication Services, and Materials were the laggards.

The main reason behind the stumble in Communication Services was Alphabet, Inc. (GOOGL), which dropped by a whopping 7.26%. Why the selloff? An Alphabet exec testified that Google was losing search traffic to AI tools.

The StockCharts’ S&P 500 MarketCarpet (below) reflects Wednesday’s price action.

FIGURE 1. STOCKCHARTS MARKETCARPETS FOR MAY 7, 2025. It was mostly green with some pockets of red.Image source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Overall, Wednesday’s performance is leaning more positive than negative, but is it enough to break through critical resistance levels?

Resistance Levels in the S&P 500

To get a clearer picture, we need to check out the daily chart of the S&P 500 ($SPX).

FIGURE 2. S&P 500 FACING A LOT OF HEADWINDS. THE 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level is a resistance level the index is struggling to break above.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

The S&P 500 is sandwiched between its 50- and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs). The Fibonacci retracement levels drawn from the February high to April low show that the 61.8% retracement level is proving to be a stubborn ceiling. Add to that the downward-sloping 50-day SMA, and the market may have a tough time moving higher. To leave the downtrend in the rearview mirror, the S&P 500 would have to break above its 200-day SMA with the necessary follow-through to keep it above that level. So far, the price action suggests that the S&P 500 will face headwinds to get to that stage.

News Moves Markets, Like the Chip Surprise Today

Remember, the market’s price action is like riding a rollercoaster powered by headlines. This can sometimes send technical analysis into a disarray.

Take, for example, today’s news about lifting the chip restrictions, which sent semiconductor stocks higher. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) jumped 2.05% (see chart below).

FIGURE 3. DAILY CHART OF SMH. Will the semiconductor ETF be able to break out above its May 2 high?Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Like the chart of the S&P 500, SMH needs to work harder at breaking its downtrend. The one ray of hope is that Wednesday’s move reached the May 2 high. The downside: it wasn’t able to break above it. This shows investors are cautious about semiconductors and the overall equity market.

Volatility Says It All

The caution among investors can be seen clearly in the chart of the S&P 500 vs the Cboe Volatility Index ($VIX).

FIGURE 4. VIX VS. S&P 500. Even though the VIX pulled back from its April peak, it’s still above average.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

What’s interesting is that while the VIX fell when the S&P 500 rose from mid-April, the VIX hasn’t dropped to its average level of 19. It’s still trading above it, which is another point that increases the probability of further downside in equities.

The Bottom Line

There is a lot going on: geopolitical tensions, trade deal updates, policy shifts. Any of these can jolt the market in either direction.

It was encouraging to see tech stocks and semiconductors bounce on Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean we’re headed back to the days of growth stock leadership. If you’re an investor, especially one managing retirement money or nearing retirement, the best approach is to be patient. We’re not out of the woods yet.

As always, stay alert and stick with your investment plan.

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.