Hi all,

The markets put in another positive week for several reasons. The Fed committee left rates unchanged as expected. In Powell’s speech that followed, he struck what most considered a dovish tone. He put a damper on the prospects of a rate hike and leaned into the idea that rate cuts were coming later in the year. 

A good earnings report from AAPL helped the technology sector although I cannot say I was enthusiastic. Planning huge buybacks does not sound like a company that has growth plans but they do have lots of cash.

Friday the employment data indicated that the jobs market might be cooling with reported openings well below expectations however, still a solid number at 175,000. The treasury yields dropped after the employment report data was released. 

Optimism for rate cuts based on the cooling jobs market will likely continue into next week. There are a lot of Fed officials scheduled to speak throughout the week.  That could add some volatility to the markets.

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Sectors in Play Last Week

• Utilities and Real Estate were the biggest gaining sectors this week.
• Energy and Financials were the 2 sectors that were down on the week.

Key Levels for this Week

• DOW (38,675) – support 38,000 and resistance 39,000
• QQQ (435) – support 420 and resistance 433
• SPY (511) – support 500 and resistance 515
• IWM (202) – support 195 and resistance 205

What to Watch for this Week

• Monday – nothing
• Tuesday – 3:00 Consumer Credit.
• Wednesday – 10:00 Wholesale Inventories.
• Thursday –8:30 Jobless claims.
• Friday – 10:00 Consumer Sentiment.

Earnings this Week

• Monday – L pre and PLTR post
• Tues – DIS, DDOG, CROC, BP, RACE, NKLA pre and RIVN, OXY, LYFT, TWLO, WYNN post
• Wed – TM, UBER, SHOP, AFRM pre and ABNB, ARM, HOOD, ET, TTD post
• Thurs – RBLX, CRON pre and SOUN, MRO, SLF post
• Friday – ENB pre

Positions and Trades Last Week

• Long gold stocks.
• BA – short $260 call position. 
• BA – short $160 puts May 3rd. Expired, kept premium.
• NVDA – long.
• NVDA – Option trade Friday (0DTE), sold $900 calls expired worthless and kept premium. Did this trade last week too.

Tracking for Potential Trades

• ADBE – Move to $495 looks possible in the short term.
• BA- $170 looks like support and could move up higher from here to $184 to initial resistance.
• ETHX.b – still watching.
• GOOGL – Pull back after earnings with $165 now support and $175 resistance.
• META - $440 is now support on this breakout and $460 to $480 is where resistance will likely occur.
• NFLX - $540 is solid support and $580 is the immediate resistance, then $600 is a gap fill. Potential to sell puts again and also calls.
• XLU – has been very strong. Pull back to $67 would offer a good entry level.

 

Note: These are investments I am in or watching however, they may not be suitable for all investors. The author of this email is NOT an investment advisory service, a registered investment advisor or a broker-dealer and I do NOT undertake to advise clients or recipients of this email on which securities they should buy or sell for themselves. This email is provided for information purposes only and traders should always consult with their licensed financial and tax advisors to determine the suitability of any investment.