If you liked yesterday, today is shaping up as more of the same. But, there are still a few warning signs tugging at the market’s sleeve.

continued for members…

Timing remains a concern for bears, with SPX’s channel bottom intersection with the 3.618 Fib a few days in the rear view…

…though ES is still pointing toward Aug 31.

Hope for the bears:  VIX’s 10/20 cross continues to expand.And, CL has completed its backtest of the red TL and SMA100……with RB backtesting its SMA50 and SMA20.On the currency front, DXY likely has more upside potential. I thought the Aug 20 high came up a little short of where it should have been. With EURUSD still having more downside and USDJPY being held in the bulls’ ace in the hole, DXY could potentially break out of the rising white channel and even backtest the purple channel again. It will be important for it to hold the red TL from the June lows. This would reinforce the possibility of an equity selloff. Gold remains at a critical point. Recall that it broke down from the rising purple channel, only to push back into it… …and almost backtest its SMA200. It now sits just below its SMA100 and SMA200 and just above its SMA10 and SMA20. Decision time!SI, on the other hand, never broke down. As we pointed out yesterday, its RSI hints at a nice continuation of its bounce off the channel bottom. Today, the RSI’s breakout is wavering a bit.

Then there’s BTC, which reversed just short of its .618 Fib. Although the cloud remains bullish and it’s above all of its SMAs, it feels tenuous to me. I think we get a cloud backtest here, ideally at the 42,500 level.With Powell’s virtual Jackson Hole speech coming up, everyone is again focused on the potential for tapering to begin. Does it need to happen? if inflation is any gauge, absolutely. But, the Fed’s massive bond buying has enabled them to keep interest rates at historic lows despite spiking inflation. So, what’s the hurry?

Sure, low and middle-income consumers are being squeezed by spiking rent, gas and food prices which are far outpacing gains in income. Stimulus payments have helped bridge the gap, but it remains to be seen how well consumers will fare now that those payments have ended.

continuing…