Special Bulletin: October 1, 2024 (11a Update)

NC Needs Your Help/ Helene Aftermath is Awful

Autumn is normally a very festive time of the year here on the east coast but this year has been tragically marred by Hurricane Helene. There are so many deaths and so much destruction – the images from the storm are just gut-wrenching! The mountain communities of North Carolina have been hit particularly hard. Personally, many of our clients/friends and long-time acquaintances have been affected by the aftermath of this storm. Please join us in praying to God for them along with all the other residents, first responders, medical personnel, utility and clean-up teams as they work to put their lives and the lives of others back together.

For your information, beyond the obvious operational disruptions of power outages and flooding, many of our fellow citizens (from Florida up to the Virginia’s and west to the Mississippi river) are facing incredibly difficult personal circumstances—some are without power, cell service, food, clean water, and basic necessities. Please pray. Please give by clicking on the following links. https://www.redcross.org/donations/your-gift-matters/disaster-relief.html

Samaritan’s Purse

NC Baptist Men Disaster Relief Ministry

Our nation faces many challenges right now. This is a time for courage. A time for wisdom and experience. A time to unify and work to repair our great nation and get it back on track. Each one of us should take a moment to thankfully reflect on the blessings in life given by our Creator.

This morning the news from across the world is that Iran may launch ballistic missiles. This is, of course, a horrifying thought but may just be a form of verbal terrorism. Either way, the initial reaction in the stock market is naturally to the downside as of 11am.

Today, being the 1st of the month and the first day of a new quarter, should experience significant inflows of capital into retirement plans, et all, and would normally be expected to be up. Watch this closely as a tell of the immediate health of the stock market. Last night’s close was a shameless round of window dressing as Wall Street propped up prices in the final 30 minutes of trade – even after Powell gave sobering comments just a hour or so earlier. So today it comes back down. No surprise there.

Our Current Market Outlook remains “Uptrend Under Pressure” with a yellow light. The upgrade to yellow happened as of 2:30pm on 09/11/24, with the SPX @ 5,518.19. As long as the Nasdaq & S&P 500 continue to trade above their all-important 50-day mav’s, the bulls remain in control. Our Core Four sports 2 green, 1 yellow and 1 red light – a slightly bullish stance – BUT the VIX is exploding to the upside and launching well above its own 50-day mav. That’s reflecting a lot of fear and a desire to hedge by the pros.

There is still a nagging negative pattern developing that we are watching closely: the Nasdaq’s failure to reach its own all-time high as the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrials have done. This sets up a pattern called a negative divergence, or a negative “non-confirmation.” The Transportation index is in a similar concerning position.

If the market can shake off today’s “news” (dock strike among other things) and bolt higher on increasing volume, that would be very positive. Otherwise, there may be a different aftermath to do deal with for all of us.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.” Matthew 7:24-26 NASB 1995

Game plan: Our whole life we have learned to not “freak out” over terrifying news from the Middle East. But it must be considered and monitored. The sprint to the election is at hand and the possibility of a bull-trap still exists. The price and volume relationship of the leading stocks and the main indexes deserve most of your investing attention. Ask Jesus for wisdom. Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6-7). May they prosper who love her.

Note: You can learn more about The Triumphant Core Four risk management system by clicking here.

Have a Triumphant day! ®