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The S&P recovered the majority of its losses and the Nasdaq edged out a small gain. The INDU closed down over 0.5%, but it also managed to recover most of its losses. We have seen some corrective action over the last few sessions, as all three majors have moved back into their respective ranges.

With a high base breakout comes a retest of previous resistance. This has been the case for the markets this week. Over the last two days, we have seen the markets move lower. However, both days closed well off the lows of the session. This leaves us with hammer candles, showing signs of reluctance in bearish conviction.

We are still in a bullish trend here. The last few days should not be seen as anything more than a retest of support (so far). We will have an FOMC announcement tomorrow midday, which can always have an impact on sentiment. Keep to your current outlook until the markets tell us otherwise.

See you on Wednesday's Mid-Week Trading Room Update class!

Have a great night,

Your Maverick Trading Team

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The markets paused today after making a strong push through resistance yesterday. It takes a lot of energy for the markets to gap higher, so seeing some hesitation over the next day or two is to be expected. Yesterday's surge didn't have a catalyst attached to it, which leads us to believe it was just a bullish surge that the bears didn't want to sell.

We could be seeing the start of a bullish move here with a gap above a stubborn resistance level that the markets have been struggling with over the last two months. However, it could also be a "blow off top," which could create profit taking and, in turn, start some corrective action. Either way, we don't have enough data to go on just yet. Let's see if tomorrow gives us more to move on.

See you on this Sunday's live Trading Room class!

Have a great night,

Your Maverick Trading Team

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The markets made strong moves higher today, after pushing and pulling against themselves for a couple of weeks now. The Nasdaq has been the exception, however, as it is broke into new highs today.

We are still in earnings season and will continue to see results as they are posted. The market sentiment appears to be making a push to the upside, as economic indicators continue to show stability. We will see a decent amount of economic results over the rest of the week leading into next week's FOMC announcement (scheduled for Wednesday, February 1st).

See you on Wednesday's Mid-Week Trading Room Update class!

Have a great night,

Your Maverick Trading Team

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All three majors lost ground today, but it is the INDU that is starting to show some real weakness. The INDU closed below previous support of 19,750 today on average volume. That makes five sessions in a row where the INDU has closed lower. The Nasdaq and S&P are still in consolidation patterns. So, outside of this current test of support by the INDU, nothing has really changed.

January monthly options expiration is tomorrow, so make the necessary adjustments to your portfolios as we move into February. Keep checking earnings dates on any setups that you come across over the next couple of weeks.

See you on this Sunday's live Trading Room class!

Have a great night,

Your Maverick Trading Team

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The markets lost a little ground coming out of the U.S. holiday, but not enough to really gauge any sort of change. The S&P and INDU are still above lower support levels...well within their ranges. The Nasdaq did move lower as well, but still only one day below a new high set last Friday.

Nothing new to report with only one trading day complete after the holiday. We did see a drop in the Empire State Index from 7.6 to 6.5, showing some slowing in manufacturing. However, we still have a few more numbers left to see this week.

If we continue to see some slowing in the economic numbers over the next couple of weeks, then it should reduce the possibility of another rate increase by the Fed. It's too early to tell with only one day past us this week, but we should take it into consideration moving forward.

See you on Wednesday's Mid-Week Trading Room Update class!

Have a great night,

Your Maverick Trading Team

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We had another long-shadowed day, as the markets regained most of their losses. We have seen this pattern of intraday retracements for about a week now in the S&P and INDU...and today was no different. There hasn't been enough change to the market patterns over these last few days, which we can use to our advantage. However, we could see a test of the highs tomorrow, which might create some opportunities.

Keeping a balanced portfolio, with some short-term sideways, could prove profitable through earnings season. Not much has triggered over the past few days, so don't expect much follow through in either direction until the markets break out (up or down). Just make note of the earnings dates on any new trade ideas.

See you on this Sunday's live Trading Room class!

Have a great night,

Your Maverick Trading Team

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The markets continued to show sideways action at their current levels. The INDU and SPX continued to build high-basing patterns, while the Nasdaq continued to push higher. We haven't seen much change to volatility or volume in the last couple of weeks. We don't expect any real market direction without a catalyst.

There are some good trades out there, so continue to take advantage of what triggers. Be aware of earnings results picking up as we move towards the end of this month and into February. We will see 2017's first FOMC statement in about three weeks. Keep this in mind when selecting the time frames of any new trades that you are entering.

See you on Wednesday's Mid-Week Trading Room Update class!

Have a great night,

Your Maverick Trading Team

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It has only taken two days for the markets to get back to previous basing levels as we begin 2017. We were looking to see if momentum could carry us higher, but the markets seem reluctant to move much higher from here. We didn't expect a "major" market move this week; however, a clear direction would have been nice.

Take advantage of basing patterns in the short term. Make sure that anything directional has a theta advantage (credit spread or diagonal combos).

There are some good trades out there, but make sure that you allow them to trigger before entering anything directional. Build your portfolio slowly over the next few weeks. Take into consideration earnings and the next FOMC statement later this month.

See you on this Sunday's live Trading Room class!

Have a great night,

Your Maverick Trading Team

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All three majors gapped higher today, but didn't move much higher from there. The 2017 trading year started out strong, as all markets gapped up from last week's/year's close, moving back into higher basing ranges.

Today's volume almost doubled the prior five trading day's average. This was to be expected after the extended holiday season. With only one trading day posted in 2017, it becomes very difficult to make a decision on market direction. However, today's gap higher does take away from a straight move lower based on last week's move. This isn't to say that we don't move lower from here, but take into consideration the comparative volume...if we don't see at least that amount on the next push lower, then we shouldn't put much faith in it.

We just started the week/year, so stay patient and let's see where we go from here.

See you on Wednesday's Mid-Week Trading Room Update class!

Have a great night,

Your Maverick Trading Team