Oct
07

Gap Up Opening a Telling Clue for Friday’s Employment Report

By on Thursday, October 7th, 2010 at 2:00 pm

This morning’s open provided an important clue as to the outcome of Friday’s jobs report. The reasoning is that the S&P500 touched a fresh two-month high at the open, a significant development coming one day before the monthly jobs report release. When the S&P500 hits a 40-day high (intraday) just before the Friday employment report, the market has a solid track record of trading flat-to-up on the day of the report. The last 30 occurrences are shown below…

SPX Touches 40-day High Prior to Jobs Report
10/07/10… S&P500 ??? next session
01/07/10… S&P500 +0.3% next session
12/03/09… S&P500 +0.6% next session
08/06/09… S&P500 +1.3% next session
05/07/09… S&P500 +2.4% next session
05/01/08… S&P500 +0.3% next session
05/31/07… S&P500 +0.4% next session
05/03/07… S&P500 +0.2% next session
02/01/07… S&P500 +0.2% next session
12/07/06… S&P500 +0.2% next session
10/05/06… S&P500 -0.3% next session
08/03/06… S&P500 -0.1% next session
01/05/06… S&P500 +0.9% next session
03/03/05… S&P500 +1.0% next session
12/02/04… S&P500 +0.1% next session
11/04/04… S&P500 +0.4% next session
01/08/04… S&P500 -0.9%  next session (*)
06/05/03… S&P500 -0.2% next session
08/31/00… S&P500 +0.2% next session
07/01/99… S&P500 +0.8% next session
11/04/98… S&P500 +1.3% next session
07/01/98… S&P500 -0.2% next session
04/02/98… S&P500 +0.2% next session
02/05/98… S&P500 +0.9% next session
12/04/97… S&P500 +1.1% next session
07/31/97… S&P500 -0.8%  next session (*)
07/02/97… S&P500 +1.4% next session
02/01/96… S&P500 -0.4% next session
07/06/95… S&P500 +0.4% next session
06/01/95… S&P500 -0.2% next session
05/04/95… S&P500 -0.1% next session

On only two occasions out of thirty, or 7% of the time, did the S&P500 close down 0.5% or more on the day of the release (and it never closed down more than 1%). That’s significantly below the 29% random chance for a 0.5%+ drop one day later, indicating a 40-day high for the SPX just prior to the jobs report is a good indication of limited downside potential on the day of the report.

Copyright Notice

Copyright 2012 Astrikos LLC. This publication is for the benefit of subscribers only and is not to be summarized, reproduced, or rebroadcast in any fashion without our written permission.

Market Tells is on Twitter!


Disclaimer

Comments, data and trading signals herein are for informational purposes only and are not recommendations to buy or sell. All information presented is believed to be accurate but is not guaranteed.