S&P 500 Overbought, US Dollar on Verge of Breakout: Key Levels to Watch Today

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Since the beginning of March, the has been undergoing a nice consolidation, which passed between the day before yesterday and yesterday.

However, the index did manage to hit the upper trend line, which has been respected since February 12.

S&P 500 Index-Daily Chart

It also trades one full bar above the upper Bollinger band, which hasn’t happened often during this rally and is generally in an overbought condition.

By the looks of the chart, I can’t see any other time that has happened going back to October. It is merely an observation and not predictive of anything, but again, I would think it serves as an overbought indication.S&P 500 Index-Daily Chart

The was also very strong yesterday, especially against the and the .

So, yet again, the is approaching that resistance level at 104.25, which has been very difficult to breach.

One would think that given the stronger US data, the move to cut rates by the Swiss National Bank, and the Bank of England’s dovish tone, the dollar would break out and push higher. But we have to wait to see what develops here.US Dollar Index-Daily Chart

The has rallied aggressively following the BOJ’s to raise rates and end yield curve control.

That is mainly because the yen has weakened. After all, the BOJ gave no clarity as to when it would consider raising rates again.Nikkei 225 Index-Daily Chart

So this week had four central banks, all with reasonably timid policies and stances, and it strikes me as odd.

Most notably that of the Fed, where the market is saying that the Fed’s view on inflation is wrong. We are now at the highest level on the 5-year inflation breakeven in a year.

5-Year Inflation Breakeven

The chart shows that the 5-year inflation break-even trend has been steadily rising since mid-December, around the time of that FOMC meeting. One would think that if the policy were indeed as restrictive as the Fed believes, this would not happen.

5-Year Inflation Break-Even Trend

So, it’s no wonder the is hitting resistance for the fifth time since June 2022.

If the Fed is going to let inflation run hot and the market suggests inflation is going higher, then it would make sense for energy prices to go higher and the energy sector to go higher as well.

XLE-Daily Chart

It might even make sense for the ) sector to go higher because many other precious metals besides gold have yet to move.XME-Daily Chart

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