Wednesday is a Fed Day. Fed Days have historically shown an upside tendency. I have documented this tendency in great detail over the years, with the most complete documentation coming in The Quantifiable Edges Guide to Fed Days. Based on what the market did Tuesday, this does not seem to be the most favorable Fed Day setup. A big reason for this is that SPX closed at a 20-day high on Tuesday. Fed Day bullishness has often occurred when a Fed announcement has helped to alleviate market stress. When the market closes at a 20-day high, it typically means there isn’t a lot of worry present. Under these circumstances, the upside inclination has also not been present. Below are charts that compare Fed Days that close below 20-day highs to those that close at 20-day highs.
The new high on Tuesday appears to eliminate, or greatly reduce, the bullish Fed Day edge.
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Rob Hanna is the founder of Quantifiable Edges, a quantitative market research service he has run since 2008. His research focuses on statistical analysis of U.S. equity markets, including studies on FOMC patterns, VIX dynamics, seasonal effects, gap behavior, market breadth, and other quantitative edges. In 2009 he published "The Quantifiable Edges Guide to Fed Days," available on Amazon. He was named the 2024 recipient of the National Association of Active Investment Managers (NAAIM) Founders Award and currently serves on the NAAIM Board of Directors. His articles have appeared in several trading and investment publications, and he has been a guest on numerous trading podcasts. Rob has been a featured speaker at annual conferences for the CMT Association (formerly Market Technicians Association), the American Association of Professional Technical Analysts (AAPTA), and NAAIM. He ran a private investment partnership from 2001 through 2019 before joining Capital Advisors 360 as an investment advisor representative, where he trades quantitative and volatility-based models for clients.. Follow him on Twitter / Facebook.
