Stocks closed pretty strong for the year, and the yearly open filled a gap very quickly. At the moment, I see very little evidence that the year will start with a massive dump, especially after 2022 was so brutal for stocks, bonds, and crypto. It looks more likely that things will first go up and then potentially go down. The market resuming its bounce makes more sense before it goes down again.
In my opinion, Q1 has the potential to be a bullish quarter, with SPX getting even up to 4400. It might be a massive bull trap, but it's possible. I think the Q1-Q3 period has the potential to be very choppy and much choppier than people imagine. Instead of having a clear trend, we might see a ton of chop that frustrates both bulls and bears, and then eventually a resumption either to the upside or downside, depending on what global liquidity is like and how markets force Central banks to act.
Even though I see a recession coming, I've been talking about how it wouldn't come in 2022 and that all we saw in 2022 was a slowdown and inflation, giving its place to disinflation. I doubt the recession will start in Q1 2023 and that markets might not crash until Q4 2023. At the same time, it's clear that the USD is in a challenging position and that the Fed is cornered while other central banks are increasing liquidity while raising rates. Maybe the market finally accepts that interest rates won't be higher than inflation over the next few years, and they price that in. Finally, we need to remember that the Fed started hiking in March 2022 and that the impact of their hikes could take anywhere from 12 to 24 months until they genuinely impact the economy.
So let's focus on what the current price action is telling us on SPX, NDX, and RUT. On my main chart, I have S&P 500 and the potential scenarios I see. I see the Monthly Pivot and the critical breakdown zone being tested. We currently have a double top at 3880 which will most likely be broken. A lot will then depend on whether the market will close above the Monthly Pivot. If it does, it may go significantly higher toward 4350-4400. Until I see a close below 3750, I don't think it makes sense to be very bearish, as the market is trading in a range, so it could first take out the highs, then the lows, and then move higher. It's, therefore, better to take it step by step.
For NDX below, we can see that the market has found decent support and could bounce. In my opinion, we will see new lows on Nasdaq much faster than all other indices, and I am pretty sure we will get new lows in 2023, even if we don't see other indices make new lows. For RUT, we are in a mini range, which is part of a more extensive range. And I think we first take the highs and then the lows. In my opinion, the market will trade both at 1630 and 1910, so it's all a matter of how we get to each point. Either way, both look very attractive for going long or short.
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