This week’s jobless claims # came in lower at 554,000. That’s a 21,000 decrease from last week but still more than 10,000 above the 4 week moving average. In our “Trade” vs. “Trend” operating language, the “Trade” here is down off of the peak (like we proactively predicted it would when I made this bullish call last week), and the “Trend” remains negative.

When negative “Trends” are known, that’s called consensus. What matters to markets is what happens on the margin. On the margin, this week’s jobless claims report was better than horrifying. The shorts who were looking for a new high in claims have to cover.

My upside immediate term target in the SP500 is currently 926. On balance, I remain bullish on the US stock market’s “Trade.”
KM