NASDAQ Hits Record High On Judges Ruling

Hello traders everywhere. The likes of Netflix Inc. (NFLX) and Time Warner Inc. (TWX) have propelled the NASDAQ (COMP) to record highs today hitting $7,748.96 in morning trading. Move higher comes after a federal judge approved the blockbuster merger between AT&T and Time Warner on Tuesday, blocking the government's effort to stop the $85.4 billion deal. This decision could unleash a wave of corporate takeovers.

The judge, Richard J. Leon of United States District Court in Washington, said the Justice Department had not proved that the telecom company's acquisition of Time Warner would lead to fewer choices for consumers and higher prices for television and internet services.

The merger would create a media and telecommunications powerhouse, reshaping the landscape of those industries. The combined company would have a library that includes HBO's hit "Game of Thrones" and channels like CNN, along with vast distribution reach through wireless and satellite television services across the country.

NASDAQ Hits Record High

On the other side, the S&P 500 and DOW are relatively unchanged on the day awaiting the announcement of the Federal Reserves interest rate hike decision at 2 pm EDT today. It's expected that Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues will announce a quarter-point increase in interest rates as the central bank seeks to normalize monetary policy with the economy showing signs of health. Continue reading "NASDAQ Hits Record High On Judges Ruling"

Bitcoin Delivers Sunday Surprise

Hello traders everywhere. The CME Bitcoin real-time index dropped over 10% on Sunday giving many cryptocurrency traders a Sunday surprise. The index traded as low as $6,643.58 before finally closing the day at $6,781.18. It's the first time since early April that Bitcoin has traded below the $7,000 level. However, it shouldn't come as a surprise after it's been trapped in a tight trading range between $7,000 and $7,800 since about mid-May.

Media reports will have you believe that the price drop is due to a hack on the South Korean exchange Coinrail, which was revealed Sunday, and renewed concerns regarding security at cryptocurrency exchanges. However, a significant move was expected anyway, as an extended period of consolidation or low volatility is often followed by a sharp move on either side and prices started falling Saturday, so the theft of ERC-20 tokens at a minor exchange seems an unlikely cause.

Bitcoin Delivers Sunday Surprise

Events To Keep In Mind This Week

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Stocks Struggle For Traction Posting Weekly Loss

Hello traders everywhere. One week after we saw the stock market make gains we've retreated into negative territory. All three indexes are posting weekly losses and continuing to be bound in a sideways trading range. This weeks weakness is due to a rally in crude oil prices, a pickup in government bond yields as inflation rises and geo-political uneasiness around the globe.

The 10-Year Treasury yield hit a fresh seven-year high settling on Tuesday at 3.082%, compared with 2.995% Monday, marking its biggest one-day advance since March 2017. It will end the week above the 3% level at 3.069%

Stocks Struggle

The U.S. Dollar continues to gain strength with a gain of +1.21% on the week. This weeks gain erases last weeks small loss as the dollar looks to heading higher. With green Trade Triangles on the board keep your eye on the $91.28, a move below that level will trigger a red weekly Trade Triangle indicating a move to a sidelines position. Continue reading "Stocks Struggle For Traction Posting Weekly Loss"

Surging Dollar Puts Pressure On Gold

Hello traders everywhere. A surging dollar is putting increased pressure on gold driving it down to its lowest levels of 2018 to date. Gold is currently trading below the $1300, it's the lowest level since late December of 2017. With red Trade Triangles across the board indicating a strong downtrend and higher than usual trading volumes expect gold to head lower.

The dollar's continued strength is due to a surge in interest rates. The benchmark 10-year note yield hit 3.095% on Tuesday, its highest level since 2011, while the two-year note yield traded around levels not seen in a decade.

Surging Dollar

As for stocks, overall the stock market is on the rise with the big mover of the day being Macy's (M). Macy's shares rallied more than 10% on stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings. The company's same-store sales a key metric for retailers, rose 4.2% last quarter versus an estimate of 1.4%.

Bitcoin finally succumbed to the "bitcoin bears" and issued a red weekly Trade Triangle at $8,342.58 while breaking through the 50-day moving average, which could become the next level of resistance if bitcoin were to move lower.

Key Levels To Watch This Week:

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Stocks Gain On Thin Trading Volume

Hello traders everywhere. The DOW came close to breaking the 25,000 level in early trading, which would have been the first time since early February that it had traded at or above that level. But it wasn't to be as it soon retreated from those highs to only be trading slightly higher on the day. The biggest contributor to sluggish trading is thin volume, overall trading volumes have been declining for some time with Friday and Monday being two of the lowest-volume days of the year at the NYSE. Have traders started the ole "Sell in May and go away" trend?

Trading Volume

The big news of the afternoon was that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states can allow sports betting, which gave a boost to some of the Vegas/gaming stocks. The ruling takes the U.S. a step closer to legal sports betting in numerous states, possibly even nationwide. Currently, the practice is legal only in select places such as Nevada, home to the gambling capital Las Vegas. While Nevada's Gaming Control board reported $4.8 billion in sports bets last year, the black market total is considered to be many times the legal market.

Mark Cuban told CNBC on "Squawk Alley."

"I think everyone who owns a top four professional sports team just basically saw the value of their team double," said Cuban, owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks.

Key Events To Watch This Week:

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