Good Evening,

The market struggled again today with the major indices ending the week about where they started it. It’s not surprising though, as I really don’t expect more than 5% upside between now and the first of the year. A matter of fact, Goldman Sachs predicted equities to be up somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.38% through the rest of the year. In a strong market uptrend it should be easier to hold positions and not be forced to sell. As I mentioned yesterday, that isn’t the case in this market. Traders sell their positions after a day or two of gains making it hard to stay in one place which makes me question how bullish things really are.  It makes me wonder if it’s worth the trouble for such a small gain.  I will go on record and say that this is the most frustrating market that I have traded in, in my 20 years of trading. That is still a fact even if I close out the year with a nice gain. This market needs a reset and that’s the only thing that will make trading good once again. Until then there will be more of the same. It’s exactly like I said it would be back in December…

Investors will have to wait until next week to see if the S&P 500 can finally top 2,000. Stocks fell broadly on Friday.

 

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The day’s action left us with the following signals: C-Neutral, S-Neutral, I-Neutral, F-Buy. We are currently invested at 25/C, 75/S. Our allocation is now -3.10% for the year not including today’s results. Here are the latest posted results:

07/24/14
Fund	G Fund	F Fund	C Fund	S Fund	I Fund
Price	14.4754	16.4152	25.9788	35.2242	26.8306
$ Change	0.0008	-0.0356	0.0129	-0.0126	0.0593
% Change day	+0.01%	-0.22%	+0.05%	-0.04%	+0.22%
% Change week	+0.04%	-0.08%	+0.50%	+0.47%	+0.91%
% Change month	+0.15%	-0.08%	+1.52%	-1.50%	-0.10%
% Change year	+1.32%	+4.28%	+8.81%	+4.61%	+4.95%
	L INC	L 2020	L 2030	L 2040	L 2050
Price	17.2715	22.7751	24.6985	26.2739	14.9451
$ Change	0.0013	0.0083	0.0111	0.0133	0.0096
% Change day	+0.01%	+0.04%	+0.04%	+0.05%	+0.06%
% Change week	+0.14%	+0.33%	+0.41%	+0.46%	+0.53%
% Change month	+0.24%	+0.34%	+0.36%	+0.35%	+0.36%
% Change year	+2.71%	+4.49%	+5.28%	+5.80%	+6.27%

Here’s what the C Fund looked like today. (Chart courtesy of stockcharts.com)

The chart continues to produce a neutral sign. The EMA’s remain stacked in a bullish configuration. However, the PMO is still below its EMA and has turned back down which is bearish. Volume was below average which indicates a lack of interest on this slow summer Friday.

I mentioned that bonds took a hit yesterday. They rebounded today as the short term traders moved back to safe havens. How long they will stay is anyone’s guess. If things follow the current pattern, bonds will get hammered again in a day or so. As I said, it is a frustrating year and it is my opinion (ATS) that’s ‘according to Scott‘, that things will not change until the market resets from all the stimulus and that probably won’t take place until interest rates are raised. Be patient and get used to it. Only one thing is for sure. Our heavenly father is still on the throne and He will guide us through this market as He has all the others as long as we seek His help. Have a great weekend. See you on Monday!

God bless,

Scott