It Can't Just Be Based on Prayer

With the help of headlines about delayed tariffs, bulls are regrouping nicely after a sloppy morning part of the session. AAPL, GS, and bios are soundly green now and helping to offer hope for bulls betting on a rally into Thanksgiving week. 

But such a bet cannot be based solely on hope and prayer. Instead, we likely need to kick off that Thanksgiving rally with something we have not seen in a while--A strong close across the board. 

If we do close well today, I am more than willing to play along and not fight a relief rally, especially into a major holiday week of trading next week. For starters, the S&P 500 Index must close at least above 2,700 today to avoid the dreaded late-day fade. But over 2,735-2,745 could easily ignite a squeeze and perhaps turn the tables on shorts who were a bit too aggressive in pressing for an imminent washout. True, NVDA earnings tonight could be a market mover. But a strong close today still may be just what the doctor ordered for a relief rally. 

In the tech arena I continue to be impressed with several cybersecurity-related plays in the HACK ETF. CYBR has impressive earnings, for example, and is flagging nicely in recent days as it works off overbought conditions. 

Finally, as we noted for Members yesterday, with the natty-related stocks sucking wind it was tough to press any UNG longs. The shakeout today in UNG is violent, but on the 30-minute chart, below, I would use a two-point bracket on the ETF, $32-$34 to determine the next move and the next trade.