U.S. Stocks Attempt To Close In The Green

Shain Vernier•Thursday, March 19, 2020•2 min read

The action on Wall Street has been topsy-turvy today, with stock market bulls holding a slight edge over the bears. Going into the final few hours of trade, the DJIA DOW (+403), S&P 500 SPX (+50), and NASDAQ (+296) are all in the green. At press time (about 2:30 PM EST), the weekly closing bell is a little over 24 hours away. If we’ve learned anything over the past month, it is wise to expect more Friday fireworks ahead of the two-day break.

Ultimately, the fate of the markets will depend upon how quickly stimulus measures are implemented and the COVID-19 contagion is stopped. On the stimulus front, President Trump signed off on the emergency aid bill crafted by Congress Wednesday evening. In addition to the emergency aid, there are several other developments worthy of note:

Trump went on record in support of the U.S. government taking stakes in certain companies. He also stated that the government was to help airlines and hotels.

A US$1 trillion stimulus package is said to be in the Congressional pipeline. Delivery of the package is being estimated as sometime next week. Although the markets are optimistic, lawmakers say that the measures “won’t go into effect as fast as the financial markets are expecting.”

Meanwhile, U.S. stocks are treading water. Hopefully, next week will make a few of these protective measures realities.

Stocks Attempt To Ride Out The COVID-19 Panic

It has been one of the uglier weeks in U.S. stock market history. The DJIA plunged beneath 19,000 and the S&P 500 tested the 2250.00 area. I think that traders and investors alike are ready for the weekend.

Here are two levels worth watching in the June E-mini DOW:

Resistance(1): 38% Retracement, 21,897
Support(1): Spike Low, 18,766

Bottom Line: Any chance to join the prevailing bearish trend in U.S. stocks shouldn’t be ignored. If we see a late-week pullback in the June E-mini DOW, a shorting opportunity may come into play.

As long as the Spike Low (18,766) is the bottom of this market, I will have sell orders in the queue from 21,874. With an initial stop loss at 21,976, this trade produces 102 ticks on a 1:1 risk/reward ratio.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More

Shain Vernier

US Analyst

Shain Vernier has spent over 7 years in the market as a professional futures, options and forex trader. He holds a B.Sc. in Business Finance from the University of Montana. Shain's career includes stretches with several proprietary trading firms in addition to actively managing his own accounts. Before joining FX Leaders, he worked as a market analyst and financial writer.