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Sizing Up the S&P 500

  • Potential short-term range on S&P 500:
    • 5057: 2/27 low
    • 5127: 3/4 low of 5127
  • Potential “shooting star” on Monday
  • Potential risks:
    • First outside week since mid-October has begun
    • High on 2nd session of March may open door to negative month.
    • VIX making higher weekly lows
  • Next catalysts:
    • Tomorrow morning: payrolls
    • Tue 3/12: CPI
S&P 500, daily chart, showing key levels and first bars of weeks and months.

Key News:

  • Powell testimony leans dovish but is noncommittal
  • Super Micro Computer (SMCI) replaces Whirlpool (WHR) in S&P 500.
    • Deckers Outdoor (DECK) replaces Zions Bancorp (ZION)
  • Ford Motor (F) EV sales +81% y/y in February
  • Goldman Sachs bearish on EV battery metals (lithium, cobalt, nickel) amid oversupply.
  • Target (TGT) earning beat estimates by 23 percent despite revenue missing by 1 percent. (See Margins below.)
  • Apple (AAPL) nears October lows on weak Chinese sales
  • Bank of America raises S&P 500 target from 5,000 to 5,400, but sees potential pullback.
  • Jonathan Krinsky of BTIG: AAPL weakness may trigger broader pullback

Seven Catalysts for Stock Movement

  1. Volumes: More / less business
    • Measured in units, orders, bookings. These often become revenue
  2. Margins
    • Selling prices rise / input costs fall = wider margins
    • Selling prices fall / input costs rise = narrower margins
  3. Macro trends
    • Economic growth, interest rates, commodity prices
  4. Strategic Actions
    • M&A, buybacks, spinoffs, dividends
    • “Financial engineering”
  5. Credit
    • Effective use of leverage can increase profitability
    • Debt meltdowns can occur when business contracts
    • Changes in interest rates can impact leveraged companies
  6. Business transformation
    • Change in business model, products
    • Example: software transition to subscription model, chipmaker embrace of AI vertical
  7. Investor rotation
    • Typically occurs around quarters, years
    • Can result from changes in six catalysts above

Note: Legal / regulatory risk isn’t included because the issue is typically often associated with catalysts cited above

Signals Scan

  • Best Buy (BBY): Bullish outside day after “golden cross”
  • Amazon.com (AMZN): potential “shooting star” on 3/4
  • Tesla (TSLA): potential downside to $152 if $175 breaks?
  • MGM Resorts (MGM): downside potential after gap lower?
  • Nike (NKE): downside risk to September low under $90?
  • Seagate Technology (STX): bearish outside day

Using the Platform

  • “First bar” PaintBars are available over various time frames: Day, Week, Month, Year
  • On Chart Analysis: Studies → Add Study → PaintBar
  • Spans intraday, daily and weekly timeframes
  • Also available on RadarScreen and Scanner

Upcoming Events

  • Earnings tonight: AVGO, COST, GPS, MDB, MRVL
  • Fri 3/8: Non-farm payrolls
  • Tue 3/12: CPI
  • Wed 3/13: Oil inventories
  • Thu 3/14: PPI, retail sales

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Performance data shown reflects past performance and is no guarantee of future performance. The information provided is not meant to predict or project the performance of a specific investment or investment strategy and current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data shown. Accordingly, this information should not be relied upon when making an investment decision.

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