The Dow Jones Industrial Average is, after an extremely shaky summer period, back in positive territory for the year. Equity markets have gotten off to a strong start this week, opening above last Friday’s close on Monday and pushing higher through Wednesday. As talked about in previous editions of ETF Insider, the S&P 500 has managed to close above our outlined resistance at 1,200 for three consecutive days now, however, the trading volume in SPY has been quite light, leading us to question the recent strength in the market. Stocks have been broadly rising these past few days and gold had been holding its head above $1,800 an ounce and inching higher, another sign that investors are not quite convinced to sell safe haven assets and jump back into the stock market just yet. Economic data releases on the home front have been mixed, including a disappointing Consumer Confidence report coupled with better than expected factory orders in July.
Checking In: Trading Ideas
This week, our trading ideas included a long position in a U.S. Treasury bond fund and an emerging market ETF, as well as a short position in the high-yield corner of the domestic fixed-income market. Stocks have been holding up much stronger than expected so far this week, putting our defensive-minded recommendations in less than favorable positions.
Trading Idea #1: Long VIG
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