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Bitcoin Update: Crucial Insights Before Fed Rate Cut DecisionI've got some important updates for you. We're closely watching Bitcoin, and things are looking bearish right now. There's support around $56,700; ideally, we'd like to see it held there for a few days. If that doesn't happen, the next support level to watch is $54,000. Now, the big news is about the Fed's decision on interest rates this Wednesday. It's difficult to predict the market's direction at the moment, as everything hinges on that rate cut. Until the Fed makes its move, the market's reaction remains uncertain. According to the FedWatch Tool, there are two possible outcomes for the rate cut, with odds provided by the CME Watch Tool as of Monday. There's a 33% chance of a 0.25% rate cut, while a 67% chance points to a 0.5% cut. As of now, it seems the market is leaning towards a 0.5% cut, but we’ll know for sure on Wednesday. For my part, I'm taking a cautious approach and sitting on the sidelines until we see how the market reacts after the Fed's decision. This isn't financial advice, just sharing my strategy. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments, and don’t forget to hit that like button! CME Watch Tool www.cmegroup.com
GEMINI:BTCUSD
by CryptocurrencyWatchGroup
Nasdaq's Stellar Returns, Potential Risks AheadThe Nasdaq-100 has been a stellar performer since its debut in 1985, rising 22,900% (with dividends reinvested) for a 14.8% compounded annual total rate of return. By comparison, the S&P 500 returned 7,200% over the same period with dividends reinvested, an 11.5% compounded return (Figure 1). Figure 1: Since the inception of the Nasdaq-100 index in 1985, it has outperformed the S&P Source: Bloomberg Professional (XNDX and SPXT) However, the Nasdaq’s outperformance can partly be attributed to higher risk levels. It has been consistently more volatile than the S&P 500 (Figure 2) and has been subject to much greater drawdowns. On March 28, 2000, Nasdaq began a drawdown that reached -81.76% on August 5, 2002 (Figure 3). The total return index didn’t hit a new high-water mark until February 12, 2015. It also had a sharper drawdown during the 2022 bear market. Figure 2: The Nasdaq-100 has nearly always been more volatile than the S&P 500 Source: Bloomberg Professional (XNDX and SPXT), CME Economic Research Calculations Figure 3: From 2000 to 2002, the Nasdaq-100 fell by nearly 82% and didn’t recover until 2015. Source: Bloomberg Professional (XNDX and SPXT), CME Economic Research Calculations A large part of the reason for the Nasdaq’s greater overall return, higher volatility and its heightened susceptibility to deep and long drawdowns is its dependence on one sector: information technology. Since at least the 1990s, Nasdaq has been nearly synonymous with the tech sector. While nearly every sector has at least some presence in the Nasdaq, since its launch in 1999 it has always had a near-perfect correlation with the S&P 500 Information Technology Index (the basis for the S&P E-Mini Technology Select Sector futures launched in 2011). That correlation has never fallen below +0.9 and has sometimes been as high as +0.98. In the past 12 months the correlation has been +0.95 (Figure 4). Figure 4: The Nasdaq-100 has always had extremely high correlations with the tech sector Source: Bloomberg Professional (NDX, S5INFT, S5UTIL, S5ENRS, S5FINL, S5HLTH, S5CONS, S5COND, S5MATR, S5INDU, S5TELS) The preponderance of technology stocks in the Nasdaq is largely a function of history. Nasdaq was founded in 1971 as the world’s first electronic stock market and it began to attract technology companies, in part, because it had more flexible listing requirements regarding revenue and profitability than other venues. Over time the technology ecosystem settled largely on this market and came to dominate the Nasdaq-100 Index. Those who need to minimize tracking risks with respect to the S&P 500 Information Technology Index can do so with the Select Sector futures. However, those who wish to increase or decrease exposure to the technology sector more generally, and for whom tracking risks is a less of a concern can easily increase or reduce their exposure with the Nasdaq-100 futures. Also launched in June 1999 were E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures, which are now turning 25 years old. The contracts caught on quickly, and today trade at more than 668K contracts or $60 billion in notional value each day. E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures offer capital-efficient exposure to the Nasdaq-100 index, and allow investors to trade and track one NQ futures contract versus 100 stocks to achieve nearly identical exposure. These futures also help mitigate risk against the top-heavy nature of the Nasdaq-100 index, where the so-called Magnificent Seven companies—Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Amazon.com, Meta Platforms, Google-parent Alphabet and Tesla—have dominated recently. Broad exposure to this index acts as a hedge if the Magnificent Seven stocks decline. The Nasdaq has also correlated highly in recent years with consumer discretionary stocks as well as telecoms. By contrast, it has typically low correlations with traditional high-dividend sectors such as consumer staples, energy and utilities which tend to be listed on other exchanges. The exception to this rule is during down markets, when stocks tend to become more highly correlated. The Nasdaq also has very different interest rate sensitivities than its peers. For starters, high short-term interest rates seem to benefit the Nasdaq-100 companies as many of them have large reserves of cash that are earning high rates of return by sitting in T-Bills and other short-term maturities. This is a sharp contrast to the Russell 2000 index, which has suffered as Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hikes have increased the cost of financing for smaller and mid-sized firms, which borrow from banks rather than bond holders and don’t usually have substantial cash reserves. By contrast, the Nasdaq has shown a very negative sensitivity to higher long-term bond yields. Many of the technology stocks in the Nasdaq-100 are trading at high earnings multiples. Some have market capitalization exceeding $1 trillion. Higher long-term bond yields are a potential threat because much the value of these corporations is what equity analysts might refer to as their “value in perpetuity,” meaning beyond any reasonable forecast horizon. Typically, such earnings are discounted using long-term bond yields and the higher those yields go, the lower the net present value of those future earnings. Additionally, higher long-term bond yields can also induce investors to switch out of highly volatile and expensive equity portfolios into the relatively less volatile, fixed- income securities. The Nasdaq’s high sensitivity to long-term bond yields may explain why the index sold off so sharply in 2022 alongside a steep fall in the price of long-dated U.S. Treasuries, whose yields were rising in anticipation of Fed tightening and due to concerns about the persistence of inflation. By contrast, the Nasdaq has done well since October 2022 despite the Fed continuing to raise short-term rates through July 2023 and subsequently keeping those rates high. On the one hand, many of the cash-rich Nasdaq companies are benefitting from higher returns on their holdings of short-term securities. On the other hand, they are also benefitting from the fact that higher short-term rates have steadied long-term bond yields by making it clear that the Fed is taking inflation seriously. This isn’t to suggest that the Nasdaq is immune from downside risks. History shows that the risks are very real, especially in the event of an economic downturn. In the 2001 tech wreck recession, the Fed cut short-term rates from 6.5% to 1% but long-term bond yields remained relatively high, which was not a helpful combination for the tech sector. In addition to its 82% decline during the tech wreck recession, it also fell sharply during the global financial crisis, though not as badly as the S&P 500, which had a far larger weighting to bank stocks. This time around, potential threats to the Nasdaq include: The possibility of an economic downturn which could crimp corporate profits. Rate cuts which would reduce the return on cash positions. Large budget deficits and quantitative tightening which could push up long-term bond yields. Possibly tighter regulation of the tech sector in the U.S. and abroad. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com By Erik Norland, Executive Director and Senior Economist, CME Group *CME Group futures are not suitable for all investors and involve the risk of loss. Copyright © 2023 CME Group Inc. **All examples in this report are hypothetical interpretations of situations and are used for explanation purposes only. The views in this report reflect solely those of the author and not necessarily those of CME Group or its affiliated institutions. This report and the information herein should not be considered investment advice or the results of actual market experience.
Editors' picks
CME_MINI:NQ1!Education
by CME_Group
6
Options Blueprint Series: Swap Strategies for High VolatilityIntroduction CME Group Gold Futures have always been a cornerstone in the commodities market, offering investors and traders a way to hedge against economic uncertainties and inflation. With the current market environment exhibiting heightened volatility, traders are looking for strategies to capitalize on these fluctuations. One such strategy is the Straddle Swap, which is particularly effective in high volatility scenarios. By utilizing the Straddle Swap strategy on Gold Futures, traders can potentially benefit from price swings driven by news events, economic data releases, and other market-moving occurrences. Strategy Explanation The Straddle Swap strategy is designed to capitalize on high volatility by leveraging options with different expirations. Here’s a detailed breakdown of how this strategy works: Components of the Straddle Swap: 1. Buy one call option (longer expiration) This long call option benefits from upward price movements in Gold Futures. 2. Sell one call option (shorter expiration) This short call option generates premium income, which offsets the cost of the long call option. As it has a shorter expiration, it benefits from faster time decay. 3. Buy one put option (longer expiration) This long put option benefits from downward price movements in Gold Futures. 4. Sell one put option (shorter expiration) This short put option generates premium income, which offsets the cost of the long put option. It also benefits from faster time decay due to its shorter expiration. Rationale for Different Expirations: Longer Expirations: The options with more days to expiration provide a longer timeframe to capture significant price movements, whether upward or downward. Shorter Expirations: The options with less days to expiration decay more quickly, providing premium income that reduces the overall cost of the strategy. This helps mitigate the effects of time decay on the longer-dated options. Market Analysis Using TradingView Charts: To effectively implement the Straddle Swap strategy, it’s crucial to analyze the current market conditions of Gold Futures using TradingView charts. This analysis will help identify optimal entry and exit points based on volatility and price trends. The current price action of Gold Futures along with key volatility indicators. Recent data shows that the 1-month, 2-month, and 3-month Historical Volatilities have all been on the rise, confirming a high volatility scenario. Application to Gold Futures Let’s apply the Straddle Swap strategy to Gold Futures given the current market conditions. Identifying Optimal Entry Points: Call Options: Buy one call option with a 100-day expiration (Sep-25 2024) at a strike price of 2370 @ 64.5. Sell one call option with a 71-day expiration (Aug-27 2024) at the same strike price of 2370 @ 53.4. Put Options: Buy one put option with a 100-day expiration (Sep-25 2024) at a strike price of 2350 @ 63.4. Sell one put option with a 71-day expiration (Aug-27 2024) at the same strike price of $2350 @ 52.5. Target Prices: Based on the relevant UFO support and resistance levels, set target prices for potential profit scenarios: Upper side, target price: 2455. For put options, target price: 2260. Potential Profit and Loss Scenarios: Scenario 1: Significant Upward Movement If Gold Futures rise sharply above 2370 within 100 days, the long call option will generate a potentially substantial profit. The short call option will expire in 71 days, limiting potential losses. Scenario 2: Significant Downward Movement If Gold Futures fall sharply below 2350 within 100 days, the long put option will generate a potentially substantial profit. The short put option will expire in 71 days, limiting potential losses. Scenario 3: Minimal Movement If Gold Futures remain relatively stable, the premiums collected from the short options (71-day expiration) will offset some of the cost of the long options (100-day expiration), minimizing overall losses. Further options could be sold against the long 2350 call and long 2350 put once the shorter expiration options have expired. Specific Action Plan: 1. Initiate the Straddle Swap Strategy: Enter the positions as outlined above following your trading plan, ensuring to buy and sell the options at the desired strike prices and expirations. 2. Monitor Market Conditions: Continuously monitor Gold Futures prices and volatility indicators. Adjust or close the strategy if necessary based on significant market changes. 3. Manage Positions: Use stop-loss orders to limit potential losses. If the market moves favorably, consider exiting the positions at the target prices to lock in profits. 4. Reevaluate Periodically: Periodically reevaluate the positions as the options approach their expiration dates. Make any necessary adjustments to the strategy based on updated market conditions and volatility. By following this type of trade plan, traders can effectively implement the Straddle Swap strategy, taking advantage of high volatility in Gold Futures while managing risk through careful monitoring and the use of stop-loss orders. Risk Management Effective risk management is crucial for success in options trading, particularly when employing strategies like the Straddle Swap. Here, we will discuss the importance of risk management, key techniques, and best practices to ensure that traders can mitigate potential losses and protect their capital. Importance of Risk Management: Minimizing Losses: Trading inherently involves risk. Effective risk management helps minimize potential losses, ensuring that a single adverse move does not significantly impact the trader’s overall portfolio. Preserving Capital: By managing risk, traders can preserve their capital, allowing them to stay in the market longer and capitalize on future opportunities. Enhancing Profitability: Proper risk management allows traders to optimize their strategies, potentially increasing profitability by avoiding unnecessary losses. Key Risk Management Techniques: 1. Stop-Loss Orders: Implementing stop-loss orders helps limit potential losses by automatically closing a position if the market moves against it. For the Straddle Swap strategy, set stop-loss orders for the long call and put options to exit positions if prices reach predetermined levels where losses would exceed the desired trade risk set by the trader. 2. Hedging: Use hedging techniques to protect positions from adverse market movements. This can involve purchasing protective options or futures contracts. Hedging provides an additional layer of security, ensuring that losses in one position are offset by gains in another. 3. Avoiding Undefined Risk Exposure: Ensure that all positions have defined risk parameters. Avoid strategies that can result in unlimited losses. The Straddle Swap strategy inherently has limited risk due to the offsetting nature of the long and short options. 4. Precision in Entries and Exits: Timing is crucial in options trading. Ensure precise entry and exit points to maximize potential gains and minimize losses. Use technical analysis key price levels such as UFO support and resistance prices, and volatility indicators to identify optimal entry and exit points. 5. Regular Monitoring and Adjustment: Continuously monitor market conditions and the performance of open positions. Be prepared to adjust the strategy based on changing market dynamics, such as shifts in volatility or unexpected news events. Additional Risk Management Practices: Diversification: Spread risk across multiple positions and asset classes to reduce the impact of any single trade. Other liquid options markets could be WTI Crude Oil Futures; Agricultural products such as Wheat Futures, Corn Futures, or Soybean Futures; Index Futures such as the E-mini S&P 500 Futures; and even Bond and Treasury Futures such as the 10-Year Note or the 30-Year Bond Futures. Position Sizing: Carefully determine the size of each position based on the trader’s overall portfolio and risk tolerance. Education and Research: Stay informed about market conditions, economic indicators, and trading strategies to make well-informed decisions. By incorporating these risk management techniques, traders can effectively navigate the complexities of options trading and protect their investments. Ensuring more precision with entries and exits, using stop-loss orders, and implementing hedging strategies are essential practices that contribute to long-term trading success. When charting futures, the data provided could be delayed. Traders working with the ticker symbols discussed in this idea may prefer to use CME Group real-time data plan on TradingView: www.tradingview.com This consideration is particularly important for shorter-term traders, whereas it may be less critical for those focused on longer-term trading strategies. General Disclaimer: The trade ideas presented herein are solely for illustrative purposes forming a part of a case study intended to demonstrate key principles in risk management within the context of the specific market scenarios discussed. These ideas are not to be interpreted as investment recommendations or financial advice. They do not endorse or promote any specific trading strategies, financial products, or services. The information provided is based on data believed to be reliable; however, its accuracy or completeness cannot be guaranteed. Trading in financial markets involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. Each individual should conduct their own research and consult with professional financial advisors before making any investment decisions. The author or publisher of this content bears no responsibility for any actions taken based on the information provided or for any resultant financial or other losses.
Editors' picks
COMEX:GCV2024Education
by traddictiv
10
Financial Titans Stocks: Macro Fib SchematicsThese are the largest financial institutions in the world. BlackRock, BlackStone, State Street Corporation, American Express Company. CME Group, NY Bank of Mellon Corporation, and Vangaurd. This is not a Bank Sector Idea. This is a Financial Conglomerate type of idea rather than individual banks. Because these companies realistically OWN the banks. BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard are the main three who own most of the stocks and therefore many percentages of tons companies. -The "Dot Com" means they were formed from the Dot Com Bubble. -The Collapse of the Bretton Woods System was in 1973. This is where we switched from a gold standard to the dollar standard. -Black Monday of 1987 was a global market crash which was blamed on Computer Algorithms... HINT HINT: What you are looking at. "algorithms don't describe it well enough.
NYSE:BLK
by MichaelBsul
1
HOW-TO Discover and Harness the Potential of the Dividend MarketDividend Market as well as Dividend futures trading shines bright, in accordance with CME Group @CME_Group Q3'23 Equity Insights Report. Dividend futures combined Q3 ADV reached 5.1K contracts, and OI averaged 284K contracts (+5% vs. Q2 2023). Over 77K contracts have traded since the launch of Annual Dividend Index futures on Nasdaq-100 NASDAQ:NDX and Russell 2000 TVC:RUT , which allow market participants increased options to manage U.S. dividend risk, especially as year end approaches. Understanding Dividends and Dividend Market 👉 A dividend is the distribution of corporate earnings to eligible shareholders. 👉 Dividend payments and amounts are determined by a company's board of directors. Dividends must be approved by the shareholders by voting rights. Although cash dividends are common, dividends can also be issued as shares of stock. 👉 The dividend yield is the dividend per share, and expressed as a percentage of a company's share price. 👉 Many companies - constituents of S&P500 Index DO NOT PAY dividends and instead retain earnings to be invested back into the company. 👉 The S&P500 Dividend Points Index (Annual) tracks the total dividends from the constituents of the S&P 500 Index. The index provides investors the opportunity to hedge or take a view on dividends for U.S. stocks, independent of price movement. The index resets to zero on an annual basis. 👉 Using the S&P500 Dividend Point Index (Annual) as the underlying in financial products, investors can hedge or gain exposure to the dividend performance of the S&P500 Index. Representation of S&P500 Dividend Points Index (Annual) over the past 5 years. Dividends points are to be collected through the calendar year, and reset to Zero on an annual basis Understanding S&P500 Annual Dividend Index Futures 👉 The S&P500 Annual Dividend Index futures CME:SDA1! calculates the accumulation of all ordinary gross dividends paid on the S&P500 index constituent stocks that have gone ex-dividend over a 12-month period. The amounts are expressed as dividend index points. 👉 The underlying index for S&P500 Annual Dividend Index futures is the S&P500 Dividend Index. The methodology for the index can be found here at S&P Global website. 👉 Dividend index points specifically refer to the level of index points that are directly attributable to the dividends of index constituents. They typically only capture regular dividends and calculate this on the ex-date of the respective constituents within each index. 👉 In general, “special” or “extraordinary” dividends are not included as dividend points in the respective annual dividend indices. 👉 Futures contract Unit is $ 250 x S&P 500 Annual Dividends Index. The Universe of S&P500 Annual Dividend Index futures with expirations dates over the next several years Understanding the Difference between 'Today' and 'Tomorrow' using S&P500 Annual Dividend Index Futures, or what is CME:SDA1! and CME:SDA2! Futures contracts 👉 CME:SDA1! is a Front S&P500 Annual Dividend Index futures contracts, that calculates expected dividend index points for current (in this time - 2023) calendar year. 👉 CME:SDA2! is a Next one S&P500 Annual Dividend Index futures contracts, that calculates expected dividend index points for the next one (in this time - 2024) calendar year. 👉 The difference (futures spread) between front and next one can give an expression to traders and investors. 👉 Macro conditions are good, and U.S. economy is doing well, so futures spread values are below Zero (expected dividend points for next year are bigger rather current). 👉 Macro conditions are bad and U.S. economy is getting worst, so futures spread values are above Zero (expected dividend points for next year are lower rather current). 🤝 Happy Dividend Market Trading to Everyone! Enjoy!
SEducation
by Pandorra
Pro Trader Patterns for Swing TradingThis important exchange has been doing very well with options and futures contract sales. NASDAQ:CME had a classic pre-earnings run up fueled by professional traders swing trading, out of a platform support level. The retracement was only a sympathy move with retail knee-jerk reactions due to the fear around the stock market at this time, not an indication of the company's earnings report or growth potential. The stock is not at its all-time high level yet, so it can run further before slamming into strong resistance. On the monthly chart, it has a Double Trough on DPO, which is a strong indication for the stock's long-term cycle.
NASDAQ:CME
by MarthaStokesCMT-TechniTrader
GC1! Gold Futures Short setup I present to you a possible scenario going into the weeks ahead . Gold finished Friday 13 Oct very strong with a move that no doubt destroyed many whom were taken by surprise with the aggressive move out of 1880 back up to 1945 in one trading session . The question is what's next? Well no one has the exact answer but here is a possible scenario which could be on the cards . I would not be surprised to see a small pull back and all the shorts to pile in trying to sell the top before getting trapped/destroyed with another move up towards $1970 taking out the sept 20 high/liquidity before a much bigger move to the downside. To give my chart the uncongested cleanest look , I have removed some of the levels inside of the Fib Channel to make it easier on the eye . Above we have a High volume Node+ Liquidity and the golden pocket + Fib Channel as confluences . I will be expecting a reaction at this region and will act accordingly . More data will be required to determine if this is to be another LH on the HTF or a deep RT and continuation to the upside . Set alerts at the given region and manage your SL in accordance with your trading plan and appetite for risk. Like and follow for more setups like this and check out my previous analysis on Gold
COMEX:GC1!Short
by SJTRADESFUTURES
What's next for the rate debate?The U.S. interest rate debate changed dramatically in August 2023. The economic debate shifted gears with diminishing concerns about a recession, leading U.S. long-term Treasury yields to rise sharply. And the debate over future Federal Reserve policy transitioned from trying to call the peak in short-term rates to discussing the length of time rates might remain elevated. The net result was a less inverted U.S. yield curve, not because short-term interest rates fell, but because long-term yields rose. With the no recession view becoming the more popular base case, there has also been a shift in the longer-term inflation debate. Without a recession, many economists are coming to the view that core inflation, which the Fed targets, will remain well above the Fed’s 2% target throughout 2024 and possibly longer. We studied extended periods where short-term rates held above the prevailing inflation rate. There appears to be a loose relationship between the growth of nominal GDP and long-term Treasury yields. This makes sense if one thinks about nominal GDP growth as part inflation and part real economic activity, and it helps explain why bond yields have moved higher. Put another way, the period of 1% fed funds rates under the Greenspan Fed in the early 2000s and then the near-zero fed funds rates introduced by the Bernanke Fed after the 2008 Great Recession are historical outliers. These super low rates encouraged a search for yield and popularized the view that the Fed has the market’s back, artificially supporting both equities and bond prices (that is, lower bond yields). The Powell-led Fed is guiding us that those days are in the rearview mirror, and market participants are starting to agree. In his closely watched Jackson Hole speech, Powell highlighted the economic uncertainty ahead and how risk management remains key moving forward. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available on TradingView that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com By Bluford Putnam, Managing Director & Chief Economist, CME Group *Various CME Group affiliates are regulated entities with corresponding obligations and rights pursuant to financial services regulations in a number of jurisdictions. Further details of CME Group's regulatory status and full disclaimer of liability in accordance with applicable law are available below. **All examples in this report are hypothetical interpretations of situations and are used for explanation purposes only. The views in this report reflect solely those of the author and not necessarily those of CME Group or its affiliated institutions. This report and the information herein should not be considered investment advice or the results of actual market experience.
Editors' picks
CBOT:ZB1!
by CME_Group
11
CME Bitcoin Futures Breakout! 28,000 Next?From May12 - June 12, CME Bitcoin Futures saw a support level of ~28,000, which was broken on June 12 with a GAP lower. We have recently seen a CONSOLODATION PENNANT, formed with higher lows, and lower highs! Higher lows: ~18,500 June 30, ~18,830 July 13, ~20,700 July 26. The UPTREND line is drawn from ~18,830 to~20,700. Lower highs: ~24,300 July20, ~23350 July 22, ~23,000 July 27. The DOWNTREND line is drawn from all 3. The BREAKOUT occurred once the CME Bitcoin Futures broke through ~23,000! How to measure upside potential after a BREAKOUT of a PENNANT: Calculate the distance from the widest point, and add to the BREAKOUT point. This would give us ~28,800. Why is ~28,800 significant? THIS WOULD FILL THE GAP MADE ON JUNE 12! GAPS tend to be filled before a market makes a pivot! Takeaways: Previous SUPPORT of ~28,000 is now new RESISTANCE. This is going to be a difficult level to chew through! Possible STOP levels for longs: ~21,500 (continuation of UPTREND line of PENNANT. ~Uptrend will be violated if ~20,700 is broken with conviction. This would now be a lower low, which is the definition of a DOWNTREND. FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT WITH ANY TECHNICAL ANALSYS OR FUTURES QUESTIONS! WE APPRECIATE OUR FOLLOWERS! LIKE/COMMENT/FOLLOW! ❤️
CME:BTC1!Long
by Paul_Wankmueller
CME SEP 22 WTI CRUDE OIL FUTURES DAILY CANDLE SUPPORT ANALYSISThis is a Sep 2022 (designated by the letter U in symbology) CME WTI Cl Futures chart. This is the first in a series, which is a Daily Chart describing SUPPORT levels. The second will be a more granular chart showing possible upside targets if the SUPPORT holds. We had quite the failure on Friday, reaching ~$102.00 intraday, and falling ever since. The large "wick" on top of the candle designates the bulls lost control by the end of the day. So what now? Bulls are searching for support levels to hang on to any chance of a reversal back into any area north of ~$100. SUPPORT levels are defined as areas where there are more people bidding (buyers), than there are people willing to hit those bids (sellers at market). Think of it as a floor made of ice (bidders) that needs 10 people (sellers) trying to jump on it, in order for it to break. If only 9 people are jumping, it will not break. Yet if there are 10, there will now be a hole that each subsequent person will fall through. **Each ice floor has a different thickness (number of bidders), and needs a different amount of people jumping (sellers willing to hit that bid at market) to break it.** Since March 29, we have seen strong SUPPORT in the ~$90.00-~91.00 area. This is seen by the horizontal yellow lines. Even though CL broke through this area on July 14, making a low of $88.23, by the end of the day the bulls gained control, closing at $92.83. (It rallied ~$12.00 in the following 3 days) In order to show a strong conviction of breaking a SUPPORT level, traders look for it to CLOSE below a SUPPORT level. Bulls on Thursday, August 4, 2022 are going to rely on the supply of bidders to outweigh the supply of people hitting these levels. Up Trendlines are another way to show SUPPORT levels. They are drawn from lows. (The more times this up trendline is touched, the more likely it is said to be strong. Using the lows of March 15-17 (~$85.50-~$86.00) connected to the low of July 14 ($88.23 which is a higher low), we can see the extension of this line reaching the ~$88.50-$89.00 level through the end of this trading week. This is one of the last Support levels for the bulls. After a SUPPORT level is broken, traders look to previous lows for the next area of support. This would be the lows of March 15-17 (~$85.50-~$86.00), and finally the lows made on Feb 15-17 (~$81.00). TO SUMMARIZE: Traders looking to get long have the following SUPPORT levels to be aware of. If Level 1 is broken, the odds are in favor for Level 2 be reached. Level 2 broken, Level 3 is likely to be reached, ect. The risk to reward trade favors the longs against these levels, IF YOU KEEP A TIGHT STOP. **REMEMBER** A CLOSE below these levels holds more significance than an intraday break. FEEL FREE TO DM ME ABOUT ANYTHING TECHNICAL ANALYSIS RELATED! EDUCATION IS OUR SPECIALTY! PLEASE COMMENT, LIKE, FOLLOW! WE LOVE OUR AUDIENCE! SUPPORT LEVEL 1: ~$90.00-$91.00 SUPPORT LEVEL 2: ~$88.50-$89.00 SUPPORT LEVEL 3: ~85.50-$86.00 SUPPORT LEVEL 4: ~$81.00 -Paul Wankmueller, CMT Director of Content @ Blue Line Futures
NYMEX:CLU2022
by Paul_Wankmueller
A Tale of Two Americas CME:LE1! The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released July non-farm payrolls on August 5th and July Consumer Price Index (CPI) on August 10th. Both reports beat market expectations. About 528,000 new jobs were created in July, well above June level. Annualized Inflation was lowered to 8.5% from the record 9.1% in June. While strong jobs data and taming inflation show the resilience of US economy, worrying signs are emerging. There are strikingly different faces of America: 1) People with jobs and those without; 2) Financially sound public companies and struggling small businesses; 3) Commodity prices that are under control, and those still flying high. July Non-farm Payrolls According to the Census Bureau, US population was 332 million in January 2022. Civilian Labor Force data reported by the BLS was 164 million in July, 49% of total population. It appears that the non-farm report shows us only half of the country. America: People with Jobs Total number of non-farm employees was 158 million in July. Of the half-million new jobs created, Leisure & Hospitality contributed to 96,000 (18%), while retail, wholesale, transportation, and warehousing together accounted for 42,000 (8%). Service-sector jobs tend to be low-pay, part-time and/or without benefits. Health care and Government created 70,000 (13%) and 57,000 (11%) new jobs, respectively. Since 2020, the Federal government has spent trillions to fight the pandemic and rescue the economy. These jobs were funded by budget, not by growing demand of a free market. Although American consumers continue to support the economy, low-income earners are struggling with rising costs of housing, food, transportation, and household necessity. America: People without Jobs Officially, the U.S. had 5.7 million unemployed persons in July. It is very misleading. According to the July report, “The number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job was 5.9 million in July. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take a job.” If we take both into consideration, the total number of unemployed people would be 11.6 million, with real unemployment rate at 6.8%. Additionally, more than half of the population is not included in the labor force, who count children, housewives, retirees, military members, adult students, and US citizens living abroad among them. People without jobs still have living expenses. They may be supported by working family members, government programs, or charities. They are the most vulnerable when the economy turns south. Retirees with fixed income are also being hit hard. With rising price, they sometimes must make the hard choice between food, medicine, and filling up the gas tank. Now, let’s turn our focus to American businesses. American Business: Public Companies From the pandemic triggered selloff in March 2020, the S&P 500 rebounded and doubled its value to 4800 last December. In 2022, the index was down 24% in the first six months. It has since recovered half the losses, down just 11% year-to-date as of August 10th. Based on data compiled by Liberated Stock Trader, these 500 publicly traded companies employed 28 million people worldwide. Walmart (WMT) is the biggest employer with a 2.3 million workforce. Amazon (AMZN) came in 2nd, with 1.3 million employees. On average, S&P component companies have 56,000 employees. With the ability to produce and distribute their products around the world, Big Businesses could withstand the impact of higher cost or adverse policy better than most companies. According to WSJ data, as of August 5th, the trailing 12-month Price/Earnings Ratio (P/E) is 22.6 for S&P 500. Forward P/E is 18.2. Market expects S&P component companies to have lower earnings, but the impact of pending recession is not very significant. American Business: Private Companies Let’s start off by saying that I do not have comprehensive research on private businesses. Since most readers could only invest in the secondary market, we could use the Small-Cap Russell 2000 index as a proxy to mainstream American businesses. Russell has a YTD return of -12%, about 1% below the S&P. In the past five years, Russell underperformed S&P by 28%. Small-Cap stock performance is especially weak at time of market turmoil. A big difference is in the P/E ratio. Russell has a trailing P/E of 68.9, but the forward P/E sharply drops to 22.6. In good times, Small-Cap stock price have been inflated a lot more than the Blue-Chip. I expect their price to deflate faster in the pending recession. July CPI Data July CPI is unchanged from June month over month (M/M), and up 8.5% year over year (Y/Y). Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, is up 0.3% M/M and +5.9% Y/Y. Diving in the data by commodity category shows a different picture. Food: Up 1.1% M/M in July from 1.0% in June. Annualized food inflation is now 10.9%. Energy: Down 4.6% M/M, of which, gasoline, -4.6%; diesel, -4.7%; natural gas, -3.6%. Annualized energy inflation remains uncomfortably high at +33%. Gasoline price is 45% higher Y/Y after 50 days of consecutive price cuts. Commodities (excluding food and energy): Up 0.2% M/M and 7.0% Y/Y. CPI data M/M and Y/Y for selected products is: New cars, +0.6% and +10.4%; Used cars, -0.4% and +6.6%; Clothing, -0.1% and 5.1%; Pharmaceuticals, +0.6% and +3.7%. Services (excluding energy): Up 0.4% M/M and 5.5% Y/Y. CPI data M/M and Y/Y for selected service categories is: Housing, +0.5% and +5.7%; Transportation, -0.5% and +9.2%; Medical, +0.4% and +5.1%. Overall, inflation is lower in July only because the sharp decline in energy prices offset the price gains in food, housing, new cars and medicine . Investors' thrill in the stock market may be gone when they go the supermarkets after work. There are signs that consumers are downgrading their food purchases in the face of runaway inflation. Firstly, people tend to give up dining out in favor of cooking at home to save money. In July, food at home inflation was +1.3% M/M and +13% Y/Y. Price inflation for food consumed away from home increased at a slower pace, up 0.7% M/M and 7.6% Y/Y. There is a 5.5% spread, which impacts food spending at these two segments. Secondly, meat purchases show an apparent shift toward less expensive options. In July, beef price inflated 3.4% Y/Y, while pork was up 7.6% and chicken up 17.6%. Within each meat category, lower cost products also show higher inflation, indicating more demand. For example, ground beef was up 9.7% Y/Y, while steak price was down 1.5%! Bearish Trade Ideas With the headwind facing American economy, I think that a recession is inevitable. Based on the above analysis, I recommend shorting the Russell 2000. A 60+ P/E is too rich a valuation. The index could crash harder than S&P during an economic downturn. We could consider shorting the CME Micro E-Mini Russell 2000 December contract (M2KZ2) . Each contract is $5 x Index. At current quote of 1,974, each contract has a notional value of $9,870. CME requires initial margin of $550. Another idea is on beef prices. American consumer generally eats more beef while dining out. With the shift to cooking at home and buying cheaper meat, I expect beef prices to fall faster than pork price during a recession. We could short the CME Live Cattle December contract (LEZ2) . Each contract is 40,000 pounds of cattle. At current quote of 150.575, each contract has a notional value of $60,230. CME requires initial margin of $1,600. The futures market is extremely volatile this year. Getting an information edge increases your odd of success. I suggest my readers to subscribe to CME market data. TradingView users already have access to delayed data. A Pro user could upgrade to real-time CME market data for only $4 a month, a huge discount at the time of high inflation. Happy Trading. Disclaimers *Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services.
CME:LE1!Short
by JimHuangChicago
5
In Search of an Edge for Non-Professional TradersCBOT:ZW1! What do Gold, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Corn, Soybeans, and Wheat have in common? Their prices all go up in a global crisis. In other words, these strategically important commodities are positively correlated with the level of risk. “Risk Up, Price Up; and Risk Down, Price Down”. Everyday non-professional traders (NonProfs) usually have a disadvantage trading these futures contracts. Let’s see who we are up against: • Commercial Firms, including producers, processors, merchants, and major users of the underlying commodities. • Financial Institutions, such as investment banks, hedge funds, asset managers, proprietary trading firms, commodity trading advisors and futures commission merchants. These professional traders (Profs) have industry knowledge, market information, research capabilities, trading technologies, high-speed and seemingly unlimited amount of money. They contribute to about 80% of trading volume for a typical futures contract. So, what could you do in an uphill battle? Recall our Three-Factor Commodity Pricing Model( ): Commodities Futures Price = Intrinsic Value + Market Sentiment + Global Crisis Premium In peaceful times, the coefficient of Crisis Premium is zero. The Profs win out easily. When a global crisis breaks out, price pattern may be altered completely. The chart illustrates how CBOT Wheat Futures behaves before and after the start of Russia-Ukraine conflict. Based on Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH), a baseline futures price reflects all information regarding the Intrinsic Value and Market Sentiment factors. However, the Crisis Premium is unknown to all of us. The Profs could not use fundamental analysis or technical analysis to gain a better understanding of Mr. Putin’s mindset. Few had inside information of the inner working of the Kremlin or the Russian generals, either. Your guesses are just as good as the Profs when it comes to what’s happening next. An analogue: In a close-range hand combat, the Profs have no use for their arsenal of missiles, fighter jets and tanks. NonPros with limited resources are on an equal footing to trade against the Profs. It’s critical to pick a fight that you have a chance to win. Recall that we discussed how to define global crisis with binary outcomes, and select financial instruments based on their responses to those outcomes. ( ) For CBOT Wheat Futures, Ukraine conflict has become the dominant price driver since February 14th. But after four months, we still have no clue when or how the war could end. Let’s define it in two simple outcomes: War and Peace. The first one includes all scenarios that the war would continue or intensify, where the second one could be a peace deal or a victory in favor of either Russia of Ukraine. As a NonProf, you don’t want to dive deep into the impossible task of forecasting the different scenarios. Keep it simple: War = Risk Up, Peace = Risk Down. The probability of either outcome is real. It’s difficult to predict which one is more likely. Therefore, directional trades of Long or Short are both risky. Many event shocks exist to make the wheat price fluctuate. If a major wheat producing country announces an export ban, wheat price could fly because of global market shortage. However, a phone call between Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy could punch wheat price to the ground. Russia is the No. 1 wheat exporter. An end of the conflict could end the sanctions against Russia and increase global supply by 44 million tons of wheat. Looking back in 2018 and 2019, we know how strongly Gold Futures reacted to a call between the U.S. and China. A Long Strangle options strategy may be appropriate under these circumstances. Investor would purchase a Call and a Put option with a different strike price: an out-of-the-money (OTM) call option and an OTM put option simultaneously on the same wheat futures contract. This is based on my belief that wheat futures price could experience a very large movement, but I am unsure of which direction the move will take. The following is an illustration (not an actual trading strategy): September Wheat Futures (ZWU2) is quoted at $10.54/bushel on June 14th. An OTM call with a $12.00 strike price is quoted at 17 cents. An OTM put with a $9.00 strike price is quoted at 4.625 cents. Look at the chart again, you will see wheat price at $7.80 right before the war and up to $13.70 in early March. A Long Strangle will cost $1,081.25, as each call and put contract is based on 5,000 bushels of Chicago wheat. This is the maximum amount you would lose if wheat price stuck at current level in the next two months. A big move, either up or down, could make one of the two trades profitable, and hopefully with enough profit margins to cover the other losing trade. Happy Trading. Disclaimers *Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services.
CBOT:ZW1!
by JimHuangChicago
4
2 Steps in Drawing a Downtrend Channel A buying strategy in a downtrend. How to identify buying opportunity in a downtrend? Not my preference to buy in a downtrend, but that does not mean we should avoid it when buying opportunity arises. Recognizing it is a downtrend, we keep our buy position short-term; as we are going against the trend. Discussion: Rules in constructing a downtrend parallel trendline Rule 1 – First the downtrend line Rule 2 – Then, its parallel Disclaimer: • What presented here is not a recommendation, please consult your licensed broker. • Our mission is to create lateral thinking skills for every investor and trader, knowing when to take a calculated risk with market uncertainty and a bolder risk when opportunity arises.
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CBOT_MINI:MYM1!Education
by konhow
41
Downward impulse confirmed on CME. CMEGoals 229, 222. Invalidation at 255. We are not in the business of getting every prediction right, no one ever does and that is not the aim of the game. The Fibonacci targets are highlighted in purple with invalidation in red. Fibonacci goals, it is prudent to suggest, are nothing more than mere fractally evident and therefore statistically likely levels that the market will go to. Having said that, the market will always do what it wants and always has a mind of its own. Therefore, none of this is financial advice, so do your own research and rely only on your own analysis. Trading is a true one man sport. Good luck out there and stay safe
NASDAQ:CMEShort
by Rykin_Capital