Global stock markets continue to hold onto a generally positive tone this week, for there is some relief that Hurricane Irma did not inflict as much damage to Florida as anticipated, as well as the North Korean situation remaining fairly quiet for now. Asian stock markets were led by the soaring Japanese Nikkei, which posted its second strong gain this week due to a sliding yen, while a stronger pound has pushed the UK FTSE 100 into negative territory. Furthermore, the European indices such as German DAX and French CAC-40 are posting moderate gains this morning. The North American session will start out with a weekly private survey of same-store sales, followed by the July job openings and labor turnover (JOLTS) survey which is expected to show a moderate downtick from June’s 6.163 million reading. Lastly – Apple is scheduled to unveil their latest iPhone at an event in California’s Silicon Valley, which should add support to the NASDAQ.

DEC S&P 500: The strength in the economy is strong, and positive fundamentals have won despite numerous hurricane scares and North Korean dramatics. Traders see storm damage as significant, but that the economic impact will be short-lived and the economy will still benefit two and three quarters out. The gap up move on the day session chart is a bullish indicator for trend. The market has a bullish tilt coming into today’s trade with the close above the second swing resistance. The next upside target is 22187 with next area of resistance around 22131 and 22187, while first support hits today at 21919 and below there at 21762.

 

Dec ’17 Emini S&P Daily Chart