1. Markets gapped up at the open and now they’re. While everyone is giddy about the Apple (AAPL) it’s only 50 cents, it was a gap and crap. It’s still not making a new high. Watch and learn grasshopper. Facebook (FB) earnings were stellar and they’re up $17 per share, making a new high, nearing parabolic territory.

You should note that the 10-year yield is up again. Yields on the 10-year U.S. Treasury Note are up over 5.5 basis points today to 1.679%. Higher yields will usually hurt tech stocks so the overnight pop from the Apple and Facebook earnings might be short lived. In fact, Apple is just up by 0.58%. Watch out for big volume.

The bond market is very important especially since the Federal reserve is buying $120 billion a month in U.S. Treasuries and mortgage backed securities. If nobody else but the Fed wants to own U.S. bonds there is a big problem on the horizon. 

Big GDP print. Up 6+%. Even New York is opening up. Now we’re all opening, what’s next? What’s the next driver? Higher taxes and geo-political goings on.

2 Gold/Silver getting slammed as usual. But they’re recovering quite a bit. Gold futures down just $5. Closed out his GDX trade today. Still holding gold options. Higher lows? Silver consolidation looks better than gold. Base creation.

1. Earnings season is underway and the big boys are reporting this week. Alphabet (GOOG) is up 5% and Microsoft (MSFT) is down 3%, both reported last night. There are many other stocks reporting earnings this week that will be in focus. Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB) will report this afternoon. 

The major stock indexes are basically flat and seem to be treading water at this time. Volume is a key for me and it remains extremely light at this time. At this time, I'm really not very impressed by the market reactions to most earnings reports. 

2. Later today, the FOMC meeting will conclude at 2pm ET. I do not expect the Fed to change course from the QE unlimited policy, but the verbiage will be important. A Jay Powell press conference will start at 2:30 pm. Sometimes this can move markets. Precious metals, yields, and the U.S. Dollar are all in play after the Fed announcement. It’s pedal to the metal and they can’t stop now or the markets will almost certainly crash. It’s a big blank sandwich and everyone will have to take a bite. Powell is the head carnival barker. A little longer but more and more signs it’s coming to an end.

3. Gold/Silver almost every time there’s a Fed announcement gold and silver get slammed. Gold is poised for a major move higher. Pulled back ahead of the announcement. Let’s see what happens to the

1. We have a mixed market today with no major moves in the indexes. Winner of the day is the Russell, slightly up. This week is really all about earnings. Today, we are seeing Tesla (TSLA) lower by 3.3% after their earnings announcement. This is not having any major effect on the market though. On the flip slide, United Parcel Service (UPS) is surging after earnings and this is helping the transportation stocks.   

Tonight, Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG) are the big mega-caps scheduled to report. They could set the tone for tomorrow. 

2. Another NFL player is requesting to get paid in Bitcoin. Crypto mania is running wild. We shall see if he is buying a top or perhaps he is a genius and will be rewarded soon. 

3. Gold/Silver gold down slightly, silver up a bit. Pattern is still shaping up.

1. This morning, the major stock indexes are slightly higher to start the week. The trading volume is very light so far. A lackluster session. m

 This is a big week for earnings, especially for the mega-cap tech stocks. Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG) report tomorrow afternoon. Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB) report Wednesday afternoon. Then Amazon (AMZN) reports on Thursday. 

There is also a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that begins tomorrow and concludes on Wednesday. While nobody expects the Fed to change course at this stage of the game it will be important to hear what they say. Sometimes they will throw subtle hints at possible changes down the road. 

It’s a very orchestrated market. Until they lose control. Friday is PPT Day.

2. Gold/Silver gold futures up a buck and miners down slightly. Silver up slightly. A nice sideways pattern that is building towards the $1800 level. A week or so and then we’ll know. The pattern is a solid move.

1. Yesterday afternoon, the major stock indexes sold off after President Biden announced a major hike on the capital gains rate. The news reported in the media was for the capital gains rate increasing to 43.4%  from the current 20% rate for people making over $1 million. That is a dramatic increase if it is implemented. We are really still waiting for more details, but it is safe to say taxes are going up.

Today, the major stock indexes are rebounding higher. So it looks like the tax hike fears have faded already. The trading volume is pretty light today so this is usually favorable for a buoyant to upside market. Plus today is a Friday and you know markets do not fall on Friday any longer. When this party ends it ain’t gonna be fun. Right now the trend is up and volume is very light.

2. Gold/Silver getting a pullback from the recent run-up. On 3-30-21 we were under $1700. Now we’re at resistance. GDX is coming off its lows. A little more consolidation. 80 percent tax on Bitcoin coming from the administration?

1. The markets are pulling back a little this morning as we start the day. Earlier today, the Weekly Initial Jobless Claims reported 547,000 new claims, this was below the prior week's revised count of 586,000. Continuing claims fell to 3.674 million from a revised count of 3.708 million. So while this is trending in the right direction, it is just really slow going. Quiet flat day today with some backing and filling. No volume. The market takes the stairs up and the elevator down. Declines on higher volume can easily lead to panics.

2.  Earnings are pouring in and each stock will have to be viewed on an individual basis. Next week is when we will get the large mega-cap tech stocks like Apple Inc (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Facebook (FB), Alphabet (GOOG) and Amazon (AMZN) reporting. 

3. Gold/SIlver backing off a little bit today. Futures getting close to the 1800 resistance point. A little backing and filling. Just what the doctor ordered. Silver backing off a little - .19.

1. Markets rebounded after a 2-day pullback. Again, the Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJIA) looks to be leading the major indexes. As I have said before, when the DJIA leads the markets higher I think it is a time for concern. Volume was decent but not heavy. Good day for the Russell 2000. Money goes to the Dow to be parked, not to grow.

Earnings season is underway and Netflix (NFLX) was the first big tech stock to report. The stock is trading lower by 7.7% today. 40 point decline. First big tech stock to report. Next week are the big techs reporting. Lots of companies reporting. Get ready, there could be more big moves like this as earnings season kicks into full gear now. 

2. Gold/Silver great day for the metals today, gold up .9% just under 1800. A little bit of a tease today. Might be a little backing and filling. GDX was up 1.7%. Silver had a sling shot day. Up 3.9%. Miners in both metals are looking strong. W bottom is coming through.

3. An email from our fan Louis who wanted to know how effective “W” patterns are. 85% effective especially when consolidating off an all time high in August 2020.

4. Gold is up, Bitcoin has been flagging.

1. The major stock indexes are coming under a little selling pressure this morning for the second consecutive session. Earning season is underway and so far, the bright spot for the market has been IBM. Believe it or not, shares of IBM are up 4.7% today after reporting earnings. Later today, Netflix (NFLX) reports earnings after the close. 

2. Today, it looks as if Boeing (BA), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Nike (NKE) are weighing on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Russell 2000 getting clobbered over 2%. There’s no volume behind the decline. Watch for volume. Yesterday there was a slight uptick but nothing substantial. Watch the SPDR’s.

3. Gold/Silver marekts are selling off and gold and silver are up. Miners are up 1%. The chart is looking very positive. Let’s see how.

4. Crypto sell-off, looking at the chart we have a parabolic vertical rise looking at the monthly chart. It’s very difficult to know when it’s reversing until we get a high volume days. We might be putting in a major top. It hit 65,500 and now we’re at 55,000. Even if we make a new nominal high, it would be a tweezer top, which is very telling.

5. An interesting analysis of Tesla. Could go down to 400 but could also go to near new highs. Watch the 650 area is a big level according to Nick. Nothing terrible at the moment, but going down to 650 it could face distribution.

1. This morning, the major stock indexes are under a little pressure to start the week. The volume is still light right now so we do not want to make too much out of it at the moment. Earnings season kicks into full gear this week, so a lot of the focus will be on the earnings that get released.  Russell under pressure and starting to show signs of distribution. Down 1.75%. Overall on the weaker side. Semiconductors are down over 2% today. No new highs even with a global chip shortage. This is a huge red flag. More bad news on the way?

2. Bitcoin had a wild weekend, the cryptocurrency crashed this weekend and is down about 10% today. It looks like this decline comes just as, Coinbase (COIN), the main broker for the popular crypto currency came public last week. We’re still testing the 50 day moving average at 50k. If it goes below 46k then look out below. Coinbase could be the key to breaking Bitcoin. Too early to judge Coinbase as a stock yet, it’s too new.

3. Gold/Silver doing quite well, yields are up and gold and silver haven’t budged. GLD gapped down this morning and bounced back and is almost positive. Gold futures were slammed in the morning and has recovered much of its loss. GDX is holding up well. Copper up to $4.24 per pound. Copper has been resiliant. The move has been so intense it could need to consolidate.

1. This morning, the major stock indexes are under a little pressure to start the week. The volume is still light right now so we do not want to make too much out of it at the moment. Earnings season kicks into full gear this week, so a lot of the focus will be on the earnings that get released.  Russell under pressure and starting to show signs of distribution. Down 1.75%. Overall on the weaker side. Semiconductors are down over 2% today. No new highs even with a global chip shortage. This is a huge red flag. More bad news on the way?

2. Bitcoin had a wild weekend, the cryptocurrency crashed this weekend and is down about 10% today. It looks like this decline comes just as, Coinbase (COIN), the main broker for the popular crypto currency came public last week. We’re still testing the 50 day moving average at 50k. If it goes below 46k then look out below. Coinbase could be the key to breaking Bitcoin. Too early to judge Coinbase as a stock yet, it’s too new.

3. Gold/Silver doing quite well, yields are up and gold and silver haven’t budged. GLD gapped down this morning and bounced back and is almost positive. Gold futures were slammed in the morning and has recovered much of its loss. GDX is holding up well. Copper up to $4.24 per pound. Copper has been resiliant. The move has been so intense it could need to consolidate.