SPX S&P 500 15-Minute Chart; News Bites Sink the Stock Market

The SPX hourly and daily charts, along with the put/calls, NYMO and other indicators are all agreeable for a relief rally to begin. The problem is the news flow. The negativity and doom and gloom is strong. On Monday, there was already plenty of negative talk occurring on trade and other topics when at noon time, bond king Jeff Gundlach said the SPX is heading far lower. Lots of money managers worship at Gundlach's altar so stocks tank.

Then the seasonality factors provide lift. Stocks are always buoyant into Fed meetings. During OpEx Week a Tuesday low typically leads to a Wednesday high. So the bulls were happy expecting Federal Reserve Chairman Powell to provide a dovish hike on Wednesday afternoon and it is all systems go for the stock market upside orgy.

Powell lays an egg. Traders lose confidence in the central bank and hit the sell button. Today, Thursday, 12/20/18, stocks try to rally again according to the technicals and whammo, President Trump harpoons the stock market by threatening a government shutdown.

The deadline for Congress and the president to agree on a stop-gap spending bill is tomorrow, Friday, 12/21/18, at midnight to avert a partial shutdown. 25% of the budget is not funded so the shutdown only impacts these jobs perhaps 800K Federal workers. Last week, Trump said he would proudly take responsibility for the shutdown. So lots of drama is ahead for Friday. If the shutdown occurs, stocks will likely remain weak and with a negative bias although perhaps a lot of the selling is already priced-in. If the shutdown is averted, stocks will likely rocket launch higher. Considering the high put/call ratios Keystone has highlighted the last couple days, do not be surprised if the Dow Jones Industrials are up 1,000 points on one of the days ahead. This information is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Do not invest based on anything you read or view here. Consult your financial advisor before making any investment decision.