The Flexible Investor

The Week Ahead for June 24, 2019

This past week equity markets rose as the underlying S&P index climbed 2.20 %. Above, the September S&P futures contract rose 1.92% for the week. During this rally we were able to step-in for a quick day-trade on Tuesday and a 3.4% gain.

Moving forward we still believe bias remains strong, for a downward move and therefore, we are poised for a short-term downward move.

Oil made a big move this week on the back of tensions in the Middle East. The August contract, pictured above, was up 8.83% for the week. We are currently Long the August contract from $55.50.

Although, we believe the longer term trend in Oil is upward, it would not be surprising to see some consolidation occur this week. We will be looking to remain with our current trade, with an eye towards protecting our current open-profits.

It was an active week in the Gold market as the August contract, pictured above, moved up 4.14%. This move was in conjunction with a rise in world tensions. We entered three trades this week in gold with the first two being closed-out at break-even while the third resulted in a 7.5% gain.

We like the strength Gold has been showing recently and we are looking for continued strength in the week ahead.

Agricultural futures were Flat to Lower this week as September Wheat, pictured above, was off -2.08% and November Soybeans climbed a very modest .42%. We were not active in these markets this past week.

Going forward next week, we are looking for further declines as the spring planting season gives way to the summer growing season.

Have a great week in the markets!

The Week Ahead for June 16, 2019

This past week we saw the S&P tread water moving up only .54%. We continue to see a negative bias in this market as momentum favors downward moves. This week we’ll be watching for the development of a downward trade.

Crude began a move earlier in the week prompted by tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman, but then quickly retreated as tensions eased and continued concerns regarding the health of the world economy lingered. We had entered a trade on this move but later exited at breakeven. We will continue to monitor this market for further moves amid Middle East tensions.

The agricultural markets remained volatile this week, amid spring planting concerns. Soybeans moved up 4.59% while Wheat gained 6.39%. Depicted above is the move in Soybeans this week, during which we were able to capture an 8% profit. We will continue to monitor the agricultural markets for potential trades during this volatile planting season.

Have a great week in the markets.

The week Ahead for June 9, 2019

We enter the week Flat in all markets but are watching the following opportunities:

Gold has begun to show signs of life lately with resistance levels being approached which have been in place since 2014. We entered a nice trade earlier in the week and will continue to look for opportunities on the upside. In the immediate future we are looking for a break above 1361 to re-enter.

We will continue to watch the Agriculturals for trades as the US planting season continues. Currently we are looking for a break above 529 to go Long or a collapse below 487 to enter a Short trade.

We believe the S&P will continue to be volatile as it is lead by headlines and tweets. Although it may show temporary signs of strength, our models have the S&P breaking below 2830 in the not too distant future and therefore we are favoring Short S&P trades over Long ones at this point in time.

The Month In Review

The month of May was an active one across many of the markets we trade.

S&P
Amid continued uncertainties, stock markets remained volatile. These uncertainties are due in part to trade uncertainties and increasing skepticism that the current ‘Bull Market’ (I put this in quotes because I believe we are no longer in a bull market, but that is a story for another day.) will continue. Over the past month the S&P June contract declined 6.65%.

US Treasury Bonds

Amid the uncertainty, investors are clearly seeking the security of the US Treasury market. US 30 year (June Contract) rose 4.63% in May.

Light Sweet Crude

Crude lost 14.95% (July 2019 contract) as initial supply concerns eventually gave-way to nervousness over trade uncertainties.

Agriculturals

Flooding in the US midwest has delayed planting and therefore created concerns about this years supply of Soybeans, Corn and Wheat. We have concentrated most of our trading on the Wheat market (July 2019 Contract) this month which rose 16.98%.