Stocks/OIl Trying to Bottom, Gold at Resistance

The 'Helicopter Economics Investing Guide' is meant to help educate people on how to make profitable investing choices in the current economic environment. In addition to the term helicopter economics, we have also coined the term, helicopternomics, to describe the current monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. government and to update the old-fashioned term wheelbarrow economics.

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The news is filled with a fearful vision of the future. All you see in print and hear on TV is how the economy and financial system are imploding everywhere. It is under exactly such circumstances that market bottoms take place. Once everyone knows the news and agrees on the situation, there is no one left to sell. The opposite happens at market tops. The last time I watched CNBC News on a frequent basis was in September 2007. Everyone was confident. Fed rate cuts were going to fix everything. It was going to be clear sailing ahead. The U.S. stock market peaked three weeks later.

So far the Dow has held above the low of 7181.47 that it reached on October 10, 2002. A significant break of that number would have serious implications, although not necessarily immediately. The Dow is severely oversold on a monthly basis. The monthly RSI has actually fallen a tinge below 20 (where 20/80 are the oversold/overbought extremes). The has not happened since 1971, which is as far back as my data goes. You should assume that this did occur in the 1930s during the Great Depression and that the RSI on the monthly charts dipped even lower. This doesn't mean that the Dow can't go any lower right now, but any major selling would be met with buying almost immediately. An announcement of the newest bank bailout plan will be the impetus for the market to rally (selling could take place first for a short time if the market's reaction is negative).

While the long-term chart picture indicates a rally will be coming soon, this rally is a tradeable event. You can not buy and go on vacation. When you get your profits, you need to take them. The most likely scenario for the next several months is a lot of volatility on the Dow and the other stock indices. Profits one month can disappear the next. The 200-month moving average, around 8600 right now, should be considered strong resistance. The market needs to break above it and stay above this line for a number of months before any type of sustainable rally pattern can be established.

While stocks are are hitting support, gold is hitting resistance and you almost always get selling at resistance. Gold got to at least 1007 in intraday trading on Friday. Just as stocks are in a long-term bear market, gold is in a long-term bull. Its previous all time high is at 1033. When this level is breached, the long term uptrend is confirmed and you should be looking for 1200 as the next stop. Meanwhile, don't take your eye off of oil. The March contract expired on Friday. In the last few months, there has been a lot of selling during the first few days of a new contract. So far today this is not happening and this would be one sign that the oil could be getting ready to turn around.

NEXT: Dow Breaks Key Support Indicating a Much Lower Low

Daryl Montgomery
Organizer,New York Investing meetup
http://investing.meetup.com/21

This posting is editorial opinion. Like all other postings for this blog, there is no intention to endorse the purchase or sale of any security.