Employment numbers coming out this FRIDAY, FEB 05

These two important reports coming out on Friday will move the markets one way or the other. This time these numbers are suppose to be watched more closely then in the previous months.

13:30 USD Nonfarm Payrolls (Jan)

13:30 USD Unemployment Rate (Jan)3

     (Consensus  5% Previous 5%)

The VIX Key

Different levels to watch for VIX. Something I found necessary to watch while I am trading.

US oil drillers to report billions in 2015 losses

American oil and gas producers are expected to announce 2015 losses totaling over $15 billion:

Hess Corporation reported a net loss of $3 billion
Murphy Oil Corporation lost $2.27 billion
Chevron lost $588 million

SPY breakout on Friday

It looks like a clear breakout this last Friday... the last trading session of the month!

SPY 190 is acting as short-term resistance zone

After touching the 181 level the SPY seems to have a hard time moving above the 190 level, which reminds me of the 200 level back in Aug 15. In Aug after touching the 181 level SPY was rejected at the 200 level at least 3 times before falling to the 187 level and bouncing to the 210 level. Currently I feel that if we do not overcome the 190 level we could fall even below the 181 level (just a guess).

Is the down trend over?

The market has declined considerably $15 trillion globally by some accounts but looking at the chart below there is something different. As we saw a steady decline inside a channel, that channel seems to be broken during the market session last week. We have to see if this move is long lasting and we see the market moving up to the 204-205 area or we see another big selloff form here?

Oil prices and the market decline

Wonder why is the oil price declining and along with it the all the markets? It looks like as oil company profits are plummeting, so oil company shares are plummeting, and that is dragging down the whole market. Does the lifting of international sanctions against Iran send more oil flowing into markets that are already awash in crude and also because economic growth in China, the world's second-largest oil consumer after the U.S., is slowing.
Two of the biggest oil companies in the world, Exxon and Chevron, are part of the 30-member Dow Jones industrial average. Of the 20 biggest share price losers in the S&P 500 this year, 13 are energy companies.
But this latest plunge in prices to under $30 a barrel has investors worried that oil prices are falling because global growth is slowing, as businesses and consumers in many developing countries, particularly China, cut back on spending.