China's Shanghai Index: The Falling Knife

Further to my post of June 8th, here's what has happened, since then, on China's Shanghai Index.

After making a slightly higher high of 5178.19 on June 11th, it has since plunged to a low today (July 8th) of 3421.53 to close at 3507.19...slightly above its 200 Day Moving Average -- making a loss of 1671 points from high to close, thus far.

The first level of major supports sits around 3000...the next around 2500...a solid break and hold below 2000 could cause major panic in markets around the world.

So far, attempts by the Chinese Central Bank to intervene and stop this falling knife have failed...we'll see if this market can find any stability at any of the above-noted levels. There are no "buy" signals at this time on the RSI, MACD, and Stochastics indicators -- rather, they are still bearish, although quite oversold; however, the extreme bearish force of the MACD, in particular, should be respected, as we could, very well, see much more selling in the short term.

SPX Candle Review of the First Half of 2015

Q2 of 2015 closed today (Tuesday, June 30th). The following describes candle action, to date, in four timeframes -- namely, Yearly, Quarterly, Monthly, and Weekly timeframes.

Each candle shown on the following chart of the SPX represents One Year.

The first half of this year is depicted by a "doji," as of the close on June 30th -- spelling "indecision" by this equity market. So far, the close is a mere 4.21 points higher than its open on January 2nd...not much of a gain in six months...no surprise, since price has been held back by the 161.8% External Fibonacci Retracement level (taken from the last major swing high in 2007 to the 2009 low), which is a typical major Fibonacci profit-taking level.

Each candle on this next chart of the SPX represents One Quarter of One Year.

Q1 of this year is depicted by a "spinning top" -- spelling "indecision" by this equity market. Q2 of this year is depicted by a "shooting star" with a slightly lower close than Q1 -- spelling a rejection of higher prices and a "bearish tilt" to this market.

FURTHER OBSERVATIONS...

Momentum has declined since 2014 on both charts -- confirming the lack of bullish confidence and commitment in this index. Candle action on both charts shows that major profit-taking has occurred in a considerable number of stocks in this index, so far, this year. In order to confirm that bears have taken firm control of this index going into Q4 of this year, we'll need to see a lower close on the Q3 candle (which begins tomorrow) on September 30th.

DRILLING DOWN...

However, looking at two shorter time frames:

• because of June's "bearish engulfing" candle, we'll need to see a lower close for the upcoming July candle on the following Monthly chart to signal further medium-term bear strength going into August, and
• because of last week's "bear harami" candle and a lower price below that close, so far, this week, we'll need to see a lower close by the end of this week on the following Weekly chart to confirm further short-term bear strength going into next week.

So, I'd watch for lower lows on this week's candle with a lower close on Friday, and, then, a lower low on July's candle with a lower close on July 31st -- also, a drop and hold of the Momentum indicator below the zero level on both charts (it has already dropped below zero on the Weekly timeframe) -- to warn of bearish control of this index going into August.

Bull/Bear Struggle for Control of EUR/USD

The following Monthly chart of EUR/USD Forex pair shows that price has been bouncing (generally) between 1.15 (dotted yellow horizontal line) and 1.08 (solid yellow horizontal line) since February of this year.

At the moment, 1.15 is defined by a confluence of a Fibonacci fanline and a falling trendline...1.08 sits around the lower one-third level of the large price range between the 2000 lows and the 2008 highs.

Bulls will need to reclaim, firstly, the 1.15 level, then 1.19 and 1.21...Bears will need to drop price below 1.08 to, potentially, 1.02 or lower. However, price support is much lighter at 1.02, as shown on the TPO Profile along the right edge of the chart, so price could slice right through that level before finding stability at a much lower level -- the lower "value" level (blue horizontal line) of the TPO Profile shows that near-term price support sits at 1.10...an important Line-in-the-Sand level for Bulls to hold and Bears to break.

Re-test of 98 in Store for U.S. Dollar?

The U.S. Dollar is back above the major support level of 95 after a brief break below, as shown on the Daily chart (cash index) below. As I mentioned here and here recently, I believe a large move is coming, one way or the other, in currencies. The RSI indicator is back above the 50 level, hinting that bulls are back in charge of $USD.

A re-test of 98 is not out of the realm of possibilities next and will be the first major resistance level that will need to be overcome to convince traders to pile in on this trade...assuming price breaks back (and holds) above the declining 50 MA around 96 immediately above today's (Tuesday's) close...coincidentally, there is a confluence of major resistance at the 96 level -- formed by a Fibonacci fanline and mid-Bollinger Band intersect -- as shown on the next Weekly chart of the U.S. $ Futures Index. Watch for the RSI to stay above the 50 level  (on the cash index) to confirm such a rally...as well, we'll need to see a higher high on the RSI at the 98  price level as a sign of bull conviction for any sustainable move higher.

Fibonacci Resistance Levels on S&P 500 E-mini Futures Index

Depicted on the Weekly chart below of the S&P 500 E-mini Futures Index (ES), are two External Fibonacci Retracements, a Fibonacci Extension, and a channel.

There are two upcoming levels of confluence representing major resistance:

• the first is between 2139 and 2155 (which could be hit any day now)
• the second is between 2213 and 2216 (which could be hit around July 20th if this extreme bull run continues in an aggressive, sustained momentum)

I'd watch for any aggressive drop below 2070 to signal a possible re-test of the bottom of the channel around the 1980 level, or even lower (I'd watch for general signs of weakness in the Dow Jones Composite Index -- as noted in my post of June 20th -- as confirmation)...otherwise, if price holds above 2070, we could very well see the second target resistance level hit by July 20th.