Technical Analysis: Bulls Regain Control

An impressive recovery by the bulls today, with the Dow and S&P (first two charts below) recovering Monday’s breakdowns. That’s a real sign of strength that could catch traders looking the wrong way. One negative we’d note is that the CBOE equity put-call ratio got a little low for comfort today at .52, so the recent pullback appears to have done little to refresh sentiment. That could limit upside, but for now the bulls appear to be back in charge, and first-of-the-month inflows will soon be here to help them once they get past the retail sales numbers tomorrow. The S&P has support at 1398 and 1395, and resistance is 1408 and 1414-1426. The Dow has support at 12,185 and 12,150, and resistance is 12,300 and 12,355-12,361. The Nasdaq (third chart) stalled after running into its old uptrend line, so the techs need to be watched for signs of underperformance here. Support is 2423, 2415 and 2400, and resistance is 2440 and 2450. Bond yields (fourth chart) are re-testing yesterday’s breakdown; an important battle going on there.