From the desk of Tom Bruni @BruniCharting
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The semiconductor index has likely caused both longs and shorts a bit of angst over the past several weeks as it failed to make any directional progress near the top of its 10-month range of 560 to 680. Analyzed on its own the index is providing little conviction for the bulls or the bears, but a look at the individual components may provide some clues regarding the next directional move in semiconductors as a group.
The daily chart provides a tactical look at the 560-680 range that prices have been trading in for roughly 10 months now. Whether this range will resolve to the upside or downside is unclear, but the presence of a flat 200 day moving average, a bearish momentum divergence, and prices consolidating in the direction of the underlying trend may all be early warning signs of a move lower in the short-term. [Read more…]