On this 27th anniversary of "Black Monday," investors will likely see the recent spate of market volatility continue. Barring an unforseen event, stocks are unlikely to drop 508 points as they did 27 years ago. However, the early action has once again been all over the map.

In Japan, stocks cheered the news that the government was considering pushing back the planned taxes. In China, the talk was about the PBoC injecting liquidity into the country's top banks and discussions of further stimulus.

In the U.S., stock futures had been up substantially on Sunday evening. However, Big Blue's (NYSE: IBM) big miss put a damper on the mood and sent futures lower for a spell. IBM announced earnings early this morning and came in with a fairly downbeat report. Diluted EPS came in a full 8% below the year ago quarter. In addition, CEO Ginni Rometty said, "We are disappointed in our performance. We saw a marked slowdown in September in client buying behavior, and our results also point to the unprecedented pace of change in our industry." The news pushed IBM shares as well as S&P futures lower.

There is also Fed-speak in the news this morning as Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said that the economy is in fine shape and that, in his opinion, there is no reason not to end QE at this point. This follows a WSJ article by Fed-watcher Jon Hilsenrath who opined that the Fed will ignore recent market volatility and stay the cTourse with regard to ending QE at this month's meeting.

Stock futures currently point to a mixed open at this time. The Dow is lower thanks the decline seen in IBM, the S&P is down slightly, while the NASDAQ is higher.

Current Market Environment

The key question at this stage is if the current correction will follow the trend seen over the last two years and produce "V" bottom. Since 2014, any and all pullbacks have been one-way affairs that were quickly reversed. And once the rebound began, it hasn't taken the bulls long to push the S&P back to new-high territory. However, the current corrective phase appears to be a bit different and as such, investors may have to prepare for either a retest of the lows or another leg down if companies like IBM continue to disappoint to any meaningful degree. On the indicator front, our environment models remain neutral on balance and suggest that some caution continues to be warranted.

Looking At The Charts

The bulls will argue that the intraday action seen over the last three sessions is encouraging. In short, the bears looked like they had the market on the run and things were looking pretty bleak. However, once Fed officials started "talking the talk," the decline, which was beginning to take on a "waterfall" feel, quickly ended. Thus, the typical reflex bounce began late in the week and the key question for today is whether or not the bulls can retain possession of the ball here. There is rather important resistance just overhead as well as the seemingly all-important 200-day moving average at 1905. So, the action over the next day or so is likely to be quite telling as to which team controls the near-term direction.

S&P 500 - Daily

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Pre-Game Indicators

Here are the Pre-Market indicators we review each morning before the opening bell...

Major Foreign Markets:
    Japan: +3.98%
    Hong Kong: +0.20%
    Shanghai: +0.68%
    London: -1.00%
    Germany: -1.47%
    France: -1.29%
    Italy: -0.53%
    Spain: -0.76%

Crude Oil Futures: +$0.12 to $82.87

Gold: +$7.50 at $1246.50

Dollar: lower against the yen, euro and pound.

10-Year Bond Yield: Currently trading at 2.186%

Stock Indices in U.S. (relative to fair value):
    S&P 500: -0.89
    Dow Jones Industrial Average: -58
    NASDAQ Composite: +2.23

Thought For The Day:

The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes. - Benjamin Disraeli

Current Market Drivers

We strive to identify the driving forces behind the market action on a daily basis. The thinking is that if we can both identify and understand why stocks are doing what they are doing on a short-term basis; we are not likely to be surprised/blind-sided by a big move. Listed below are what we believe to be the driving forces of the current market (Listed in order of importance).

      1. The Outlook for Global Growth
      2. The Price Action in the Major Stock Market Indices
      3. The State of Fed/ECB Policy
      4. The Outlook for U.S. Economy
      5. The Outlook for U.S. Earnings

The State of the Trend

We believe it is important to analyze the market using multiple time-frames. We define short-term as 3 days to 3 weeks, intermediate-term as 3 weeks to 3 months, and long-term as 3 months or more. Below are our current ratings of the three primary trends:

Short-Term Trend: Negative
(Chart below is S&P 500 daily over past 1 month)

Intermediate-Term Trend: Negative
(Chart below is S&P 500 daily over past 6 months)

Long-Term Trend: Moderately Positive
(Chart below is S&P 500 daily over past 2 years)

Key Technical Areas:

Traders as well as computerized algorithms are generally keenly aware of the important technical levels on the charts from a short-term basis. Below are the levels we deem important to watch today:

• Key Near-Term Support Zone(s) for S&P 500: 1860(ish)
• Key Near-Term Resistance Zone(s): 1905

The State of the Tape

Momentum indicators are designed to tell us about the technical health of a trend - I.E. if there is any "oomph" behind the move. Below are a handful of our favorite indicators relating to the market's "mo"...

• Trend and Breadth Confirmation Indicator (Short-Term): Negative
• Price Thrust Indicator: Negative
• Volume Thrust Indicator: Negative
• Breadth Thrust Indicator: Negative
• Bull/Bear Volume Relationship: Negative
• Technical Health of 100 Industry Groups: Low Neutral

The Early Warning Indicators

Markets travel in cycles. Thus we must constantly be on the lookout for changes in the direction of the trend. Looking at market sentiment and the overbought/sold conditions can provide "early warning signs" that a trend change may be near.

• S&P 500 Overbought/Oversold Conditions:
        - Short-Term: Oversold
        - Intermediate-Term: Oversold
  
• Market Sentiment: Our primary sentiment model is Positive .

The State of the Market Environment

One of the keys to long-term success in the stock market is stay in tune with the market's "big picture" environment in terms of risk versus reward.

• Weekly Market Environment Model Reading: Low Neutral

Wishing you green screens and all the best for a great day,

David D. Moenning
Founder and Chief Investment Strategist
Heritage Capital Research - A CONCERT Advisor
Be Sure To Check Out the NEW Website!

Indicator Explanations

Trend and Breadth Confirmation Indicator (Short-Term) Explained: History shows the most reliable market moves tend to occur when the breadth indices are in gear with the major market averages. When the breadth measures diverge, investors should take note that a trend reversal may be at hand. This indicator incorporates an All-Cap Dollar Weighted Equity Series and A/D Line. From 1998, when the A/D line is above its 5-day smoothing and the All-Cap Equal Weighted Equity Series is above its 25-day smoothing, the equity index has gained at a rate of +32.5% per year. When one of the indicators is above its smoothing, the equity index has gained at a rate of +13.3% per year. And when both are below, the equity index has lost +23.6% per year.

Price Thrust Indicator Explained: This indicator measures the 3-day rate of change of the Value Line Composite relative to the standard deviation of the 30-day average. When the Value Line's 3-day rate of change have moved above 0.5 standard deviation of the 30-day average ROC, a "thrust" occurs and since 2000, the Value Line Composite has gained ground at a rate of +20.6% per year. When the indicator is below 0.5 standard deviation of the 30-day, the Value Line has lost ground at a rate of -10.0% per year. And when neutral, the Value Line has gained at a rate of +5.9% per year.

Volume Thrust Indicator Explained: This indicator uses NASDAQ volume data to indicate bullish and bearish conditions for the NASDAQ Composite Index. The indicator plots the ratio of the 10-day total of NASDAQ daily advancing volume (i.e., the total volume traded in stocks which rose in price each day) to the 10-day total of daily declining volume (volume traded in stocks which fell each day). This ratio indicates when advancing stocks are attracting the majority of the volume (readings above 1.0) and when declining stocks are seeing the heaviest trading (readings below 1.0). This indicator thus supports the case that a rising market supported by heavier volume in the advancing issues tends to be the most bullish condition, while a declining market with downside volume dominating confirms bearish conditions. When in a positive mode, the NASDAQ Composite has gained at a rate of +38.3% per year, When neutral, the NASDAQ has gained at a rate of +13.3% per year. And when negative, the NASDAQ has lost at a rate of -8.5% per year.

Breadth Thrust Indicator Explained: This indicator uses the number of NASDAQ-listed stocks advancing and declining to indicate bullish or bearish breadth conditions for the NASDAQ Composite. The indicator plots the ratio of the 10-day total of the number of stocks rising on the NASDAQ each day to the 10-day total of the number of stocks declining each day. Using 10-day totals smooths the random daily fluctuations and gives indications on an intermediate-term basis. As expected, the NASDAQ Composite performs much better when the 10-day A/D ratio is high (strong breadth) and worse when the indicator is in its lower mode (weak breadth). The most bullish conditions for the NASDAQ when the 10-day A/D indicator is not only high, but has recently posted an extreme high reading and thus indicated a thrust of upside momentum. Bearish conditions are confirmed when the indicator is low and has recently signaled a downside breadth thrust. In positive mode, the NASDAQ has gained at a rate of +22.1% per year since 1981. In a neutral mode, the NASDAQ has gained at a rate of +14.5% per year. And when in a negative mode, the NASDAQ has lost at a rate of -6.4% per year.

Bull/Bear Volume Relationship Explained: This indicator plots both "supply" and "demand" volume lines. When the Demand Volume line is above the Supply Volume line, the indicator is bullish. From 1981, the stock market has gained at an average annual rate of +11.7% per year when in a bullish mode. When the Demand Volume line is below the Supply Volume line, the indicator is bearish. When the indicator has been bearish, the market has lost ground at a rate of -6.1% per year.

Technical Health of 100 Industry Groups Explained: Designed to provide a reading on the technical health of the overall market, this indicator takes the technical temperature of more than 100 industry sectors each week. Looking back to early 1980, when the model is rated as "positive," the S&P has averaged returns in excess of 23% per year. When the model carries a "neutral" reading, the S&P has returned over 11% per year. But when the model is rated "negative," stocks fall by more than -13% a year on average.

Weekly State of the Market Model Reading Explained:Different market environments require different investing strategies. To help us identify the current environment, we look to our longer-term State of the Market Model. This model is designed to tell us when risk factors are high, low, or uncertain. In short, this longer-term oriented, weekly model tells us whether the odds favor the bulls, bears, or neither team.