August 15, 2023

Markets:

U.S. stock futures fell Tuesday, as Wall Street struggled to maintain its momentum from the previous session.

Sentiment across the globe was downbeat after disappointing data out of China and a surprise rate cut from the country’s central bank.

Industrial production in China increased by 3.7% in July from the year-earlier period, missing expectations. Retail sales also grew less than expected from the year-earlier period. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China lowered rates by 15 basis points to 2.5%. However, the rate cut failed to soothe investor concerns and instead raised more worry about an emerging property crisis in the China.

Shares of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Bank of America were lower in the premarket. Those moves come after Fitch warned it may have to downgrade dozens of banks, including JPMorgan Chase. Last week, Moody’s lowered its rating on 10 U.S. while putting some big institutions on downgrade watch.

A packed earnings week for the largest retailers kicks into gear Tuesday. Home Depot reported earnings per share and revenue that beat analyst expectations, pushing its stock slightly higher in the premarket. Later in the week, traders will parse releases from Target and Walmart.

On the economic front, Wall Street is looking ahead to July retail sales data for more insight into the state of the consumer. Import and export price data for the month, along with August’s NAHB housing market index, are also on deck.

Portfolio:

We enter today's session holding setups in HPE, TSLL, CVE, and IQ. The roller coaster continues this week thus far but here are the key levels and all that matters. Silence the noise and news. Follow the overall trend lines. We have enough data now to set a few short-term lines to help you all navigate. No one called the twists and turns better than us to start 2023 and through this summer. Here is what we see; Bulls need to clear 4520 and hold it. Bears need to break it below 4455ish area and hold it. They continue to put us in this range. But, they continue to hold the line even with volume being super low, vacations for Wall Street biggest firms in full bloom, and that is positive – to us. So much bearish news but yet they continue to fail to break and hold the short-term line. Makes you wander what's to come soon. Stay patient here. Wait for the A+ set-ups. Our queue is super active this morning with the opening selloff here. Should see a monster opportunity. Be on alert and be ready to act.