Indecision State - what will break the new chop zone?Yes ESS...

Indecision State - what will break the new chop zone?

Yes ESS gained 1c to finish at 51c. Our volume was good, but lower than yesterday, just over 6m shares traded. Good strong trading with hands being shown - question is how far they are ready to go or patiently accumulate at this zone. Also with big volumes and buys, a substantial holding notice should not be far away, unless it is brokers accumulating in multiple accounts for now on behalf. Its certainly made it very interesting and there is a possibility a new announcement can come any time providing some insight into what is happening. Just couple of months back we were in 60s - so there is lot of room to go.

ASX Li stocks were again trading sideways with no clear direction. Of the 73 stocks that I track, it was flat, on average no gain or loss.
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Overnight US Li stocks were also trading sideways - average no gain or loss. Although Tesla had a decent rise, general market was choppy and it did not help..
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What next:
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Yesterday I had written that there is a possibility of SP 500 finishing in red, but should be less than 0.5%. It went up and down, both red and green, finally settling on red - a drop of 0.2% to finish on 3990. ASX too did not have any strong direction, and like yesterday remained nearly flat - finishing 0.1% up.
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So SP 500 is now got into the chop zone - sideways movement with no strong will to go up or down. It was fourth day finish in the same zone. It will need a strong economic data or technicals based on sentiment to get out of this trading pattern. The numbers still remain same for SP 500 - reach 4030 first with a finish above 4000, then 4100 and finally around 4170. For down, 3900 needs to hold at first instance.
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Indicators are mixed but still in favour of a possible rise. Volatility Index VIX at one point rose 10% yesterday, finally settling with a gain of over 5% to finish on 19.36 - as long as it is below 20, its considered good for stock markets. Dollar Index was flattish, Yields rose but very small. It was good to see Nasdaq finishing in green - it is believed that for a rally to continue, Nasdaq has to do well and take lead. It was biggest loser last year and also is representative of risk-on assets.
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So what will happen overnight? US Futures in slight green. Asian markets largely green but not much, except Nikkei which is on a merry state. there is a strong possibility of a green tonight and a play of 4030 - subject to some economic data. Tonight PPI and Retail Sales data before market opens - they can possibly be the drivers I was talking about. A lot of Fed speakers tonight who may try to temper back any rise in markets. Lot of earnings report. We were in another chop zone for nearly a month in Dec - playing on 3800 in SP 500 for a long period with median 3850. We are in a new zone in last few days close with a median where we finished yesterday at 3990. Initial showdown of 4030 is due - we had 3 big falls last year at this trend line. The big bear is sitting there waiting for prey. 2023 could be different and we just overpower the bear and move towards 4100. Will that happen? Lets hope so. All the best.