April 2008 Archives

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The Dow and S&P futures are indicating some follow through on yesterday's rally but Microsoft is weighing down the Nasdaq a bit. I think a lot of traders will be focused on the S&P closing above resistance today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Mich Sentiment-Rev.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

A rally in the dollar shook things up today. Financials led the indices higher while (dollar-denominated) commodities got sold pretty hard. Here's a chart of the dollar showing something that resembles an Adam & Eve Bottom:

The dollar has a lot of work to do to get that chart looking healthy. A good sign would be for its 50-day moving average to be above its 200-day moving average and for the dollar to be above them both. There's a lot of room for what could be viewed as just a normal retracement and potential for a short squeeze so I'll be keeping a close eye on the dollar (and commodities).

Gold, as it often does, traded opposite the dollar today and is following through on that bearish setup I've been pointing out for a few weeks. Back in March I pointed out the forming double-top in the PowerShares Agriculture ETF, DBA (composed of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Sugar). It's pretty much been trading in lockstep with gold since then.

We've fallen back into that oh-so-fun pattern of up one day, down the next. But this action isn't so bad for the bulls because the market is attempting to work off its overbought condition by just going sideways instead of down.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- New Home Sales

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

The market's set to open slightly higher but there are plenty of earnings movers both up & down today.

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Existing Home Sales
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

Note: I'm taking off for a long weekend. Look for the next post Monday morning.

Well the Fed decision turned out to be anticlimactic. After initially building on the day's rally the market rolled over and ended right back in the range its been in for about a week. Volume picked up but I wouldn't make too much out of that since the previous sessions had very low volume. So the market remains in limbo for now awaiting something to move it one way or the other. Perhaps Friday's nonfarm payroll report will do the trick...

Supposedly the post-Fed action was driven by moves in the dollar. While I was annotating the dollar chart last week I was wondering whether I should mention the 50-day moving average. I decided not to because the 'fiddy' hadn't meant much recently for the dollar. Well that's changed because the dollar's been struggling with the 50 DMA the last four sessions. It'll be interesting to see which way it finally breaks.

The Nasdaq slipped back beneath its February high.

Another up-thrust for the S&P as it tried 1400 again.

some minor downgrades today

The market responded well to today's pre-market economic data (GDP and the ADP payroll numbers) but it still has the 2:15 Fed announcement to deal with. Hopefully the reaction to that decision will move the market out of its current tight trading range...

On Today's Calendar:

• 9:45 -- Chicago PMI
• 10:30 -- Crude Inventories
• 2:15 -- FOMC Policy Statement

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

One more day til the big bad event...

On Today's Calendar:

• 10:00 -- Consumer Confidence

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades:

It sure seemed like the market was on pause & waiting for Wednesday's Fed decision. Today was one of the lightest volume days of 2008 and price stayed in a narrow range. The S&P and Nasdaq were both changed by a mere 1.47 points today -- although one was up by that amount and the other was down. The indices are in need of a catalyst to get them away from their resistance levels. From watching CNBC's 'Fast Money' tonight it seems that everybody thinks the market is set up to roll over here. That sentiment alone makes me think we're headed higher. On-Balance Volume on the S&P 500 is hinting at an upside move too. As always, time will tell...

No changes

For my fellow Atlantans -- this should be a good event:

DATE: Thursday, June 5, 2008

TIME: Appetizers and cocktails at 5:30PM. Presentation to begin at 6:00PM EST.

NOTES: This event will be co-hosted and sponsored with the Georgia Securities Association. You must RSVP.

LOCATION: The Clubhouse at Lenox Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30326 (MAP)

COST: Free for all attendees.

SPEAKER: Dennis Gartman

TOPIC: Currencies, Corn and The Capital Markets: A Trader’s Perspective

BIO: Mr. Gartman has been directly involved in the capital markets since August of 1974, after finishing graduate work at the North Carolina State University. He was an economist for Cotton, Inc. in the early 1970's, analyzing cotton supply/demand in the US textile industry. From there he went to NCNB National Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina where he traded foreign exchange and money market instruments. In the late 70's, Mr. Gartman became the Chief Financial Futures analyst for A.G. Becker & Company in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Gartman was an independent member of the Chicago Board of Trade until 1984, trading in treasury bond, treasury note and GNMA futures contracts. In 1984, Mr. Gartman moved to Virginia to run the futures brokerage operation for the Sovran Bank, and in 1987 Mr. Gartman began producing The Gartman Letter on a full time basis. He continues to do so today. Clients of The Gartman Letter, L.C. include many of the leading banks, broking firms, mutual funds, hedge funds, energy trading companies, and grain trading companies. Mr. Gartman has lectured on capital market creation to central banks and finance ministries around the world, and has taught classes for the Federal Reserve Bank's School for Bank Examiners on derivatives. Mr. Gartman served a two-year term as an outside Director of the Kansas City Board of Trade from 2006-2008. He has been a member of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority since 1998, and now serves on the Investment Committee of the North Carolina State University. Mr. Gartman appears often on CNBC, ROB-TV and Bloomberg television, discussing commodities and the capital markets, and speaks before various associations and trade groups around the world.

REGISTRATION: PLEASE RSVP FOR THIS EVENT!!! Seating is limited, so reserve your spot early. Please email Brett Villaume, CMT, bvillaume - AT - figpartners.com, directly to RSVP.

The indices remain close to their February highs resistance levels and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they don't move much until Wednesday's Fed decision.

On Today's Calendar:

• nothing.

More Calendars: U.S. Earnings | Conf. Calls | Surprises | IPO | Economic

Potential swing trades: