The Dow Jones Industrial Average(DJI) closed Friday at $23,775 with a gain of $260(+1.11%) on the day, but loss of $320(1.33%) on the week with a Monday open of $24,095 and a Friday close of $23,775. Monday saw price fall back below the 50% Fibonacci retracement level after briefly trading and closing above it on Friday(17April) and then was unable to move back above the 50% level this past week. Price has essentially been finding resistance at the 50% Fibonacci level for the past 12 trading sessions and the longer price fails to move above this level the more likely it is to be rejected from it. The 50% Fibonacci level represents the halfway point between the all-time high of $29,568(100% Fib) made in February and the coronavirus selloff low of $18,213.7(0% Fib) made in March and defines whether price is in a bullish or bearish trend. Price trading below the 50% level indicates a bearish bias for price, while trending above the 50% level indicates a bullish bias.
Price broke below the rising wedge pattern on Tuesday(21 April) which was expected coming into the trading week based on resistance at the 50% Fibonacci level last week. With price breaking below the rising wedge pattern a measured move could then be made to find a lower price target. The lower target of $18,983.9 is calculated by taking the difference in price at the base of the rising wedge pattern which are points A and B($22,595.1 - $18,213.7 = $4,381.4) and then subtracting that difference from the opening price of the first candle to open below the lower line of the rising wedge pattern. The difference between points A and B is $4,381.4 which is the low of candle A and the high of candle B. This is then subtracted from the opening price of $23,365.3 on 21 April which was the first candle to open below the lower line of the rising wedge and gives a lower price target of $18,983.9. ($23,365.3 - $4,381.4 = $18,983.9)
With price breaking below the rising wedge pattern after finding resistance at the 50% Fibonacci level a short trade could be entered with the expectation that price will continue to have a bearish bias and ultimately test the lower target of $18,983 which could be viewed as a take-profit level on the short trade. The stop-loss for the short trade is shown in blue and is set at $24,300 which is just above the local high of $24,264 made on 17 April. As long as price doesn’t move above that local high the short trade can be held with the stop-loss level eventually being moved lower as price moves lower.
The main levels to watch this week are the 38.2% and 50% Fibonacci levels. I’m expecting the 50% Fibonacci level to continue acting as resistance while the 38.2% level is the first level of support that I would like to see be broken to the downside as a move below that level would put price back into a bearish trend.
The Relative Strength Index(RSI) shows the green RSI line trending just above the 50 level which is the midpoint of the total RSI range(0-100). An RSI reading above 50 indicates short-term bullish price momentum while a reading below 50 indicates short-term bearish price momentum. The purple RSI signal line has leveled out after recently moving higher which indicates that intermediate-term momentum is losing strength.
The Price Percent Oscillator(PPO) shows the green PPO line has leveled off after recently crossing back above the 0 level. A PPO reading above 0 indicates bullish price momentum while a PPO reading below 0 indicates bearish price momentum. The purple signal line hasn’t moved above the 0 level which means that the short-term momentum behind price has yet to turn completely bullish. The green PPO line rising above the purple signal line indicates that there is short-term bullish momentum, but in generally you want to see both of these lines rising together as a sign of strength behind price, right now both are leveling out.
The current view on price remains neutral with a bearish bias due to the recent breakdown of the rising wedge pattern, combined with the gray/neutral price candles and the failing of price to move above the 50% Fibonacci retracement level. The expected move going forward is a move lower down to the target area shown in red.