Dig Deeper To Get Past ‘Quiet’ Holiday Week

A traditionally quiet holiday week saw the stock market run higher and set up for pockets of strength and potential profit.

The Dow closed at 29,592.27 points to rise 1.12% (adding 327.79 points on the day). The Nasdaq ended just above flat at 11,880.63 points for a .22% uptick while the S&P 500 was similarly flat with an additional .56% to 3,577.59 points.

The Dow at one point was up over 380 points before losing some steam and then the overall market pushed strongly into the close.

Simpler’s traders were active identifying trades with key tickers on the move. Technology, manufacturing and travel sectors presented possibilities throughout the day.

The short week opened up with internals leaning bullish. The goal was to capitalize on available momentum with less expensive trade setups. This pushed some options trades into next year, even looking forward to earnings reports.

It was noted that certain trades going this far out require traders to expect some “heat” and be prepared on any pullbacks. All highly possible considering the wild news cycle.

We’ll continue this week with an open outlook while maintaining caution that the market may revert to its “gap down” attitude of last week.

Moves could get tricky with the holiday shutdown on Thursday and then a half-day of market action on Friday.

We Saw: A slow start lead into a fast close – 

• Political moves for economic direction next year
• Covid-19 vaccine possibilities steaming ahead
• Positive momentum across most sectors

We’re Watching: Key sectors showing momentum –

• With a little caution in a short week that ends on a Friday
• Cheaper plays… even into the new year
• Setups in: TSLA, JD, AAPL, NFLX