Watch this level for a long entry

Charles Sachs has utilized S&P 100 for the past 14 years, both as a trader and an advisor. He uses 24 proprietary indicators in order to structure options strategies which can generate gains whether the market moves up, down or sideways. For a free trial to Charles Sachs’ Options Alerts click here or call 888 484-8220 ext. 1.

Financial markets traded lower Monday with the (XEO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) (S&P 100) index trading down 4.11 points to the 579.13 level.

The short-term market trend is down, and the intermediate-term market trend is up.

In the chart below, we see a daily bar chart of the S&P 100 index. Each bar (or line) represents the daily trading range for the index. There is also a little horizontal line to the left of the bar, which represents the opening price of the day for the S&P 100 index, and a little horizontal line to the right of the bar, which represents the closing price of the day for the S&P 100 index.

We also see in the chart below, to the far right, two blue lines, which are called channel lines and are parallel and rising. These lines tell us financial markets are in an uptrend (since they are rising) and that prices should find support (buying interest) at the bottom channel line, and resistance (selling interest) at the top channel line.

Looking at yesterday's trading, we see that the bar furthest to the right (of the S&P 100 index) closed at the lower blue channel line. If the index closes below this channel line today, then this support line would be breached and set in motion a more sustained decline phase. Conversely, if the support line holds, we would then expect the S&P 100 index to rise in price by heading back to the top of the channel.

Bottom Line:

While financial markets remain in an uptrend, as evidenced by the upward channel in the chart above, the potential upside from current levels is limited as there is long-term resistance on the S&P 100 index at the 585 level. Thus if traders wish to enter a long position following yesterday's markets weakness, they should do so nimbly with the 585 resistance level in mind.

Sincerely,
Charles Sachs
Chief Options Strategist