DESP Jumps 32% as Indices Signal Possible Topping

Technical Stock Market Briefing for Day & Swing Traders
| By Harry Boxer, Technical Market Analyst

The indices gained ground last week despite Friday’s profit-taking slide, continuing 2024’s strong upside performance as we approach year-end next Tuesday.

For the week, the S&P 500 improved 0.4%, while the Nasdaq gained 0.8%.

However, the Dow’s 2.6% decline on Wednesday marked the index’s tenth consecutive negative trading day—the longest such streak since an 11-day decline in 1974. Over this 10-day skid, the Dow fell 6.0%. The streak ended on Thursday with a modest uptick.

For the second week in a row, bond prices tumbled, pushing yields higher. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed to its highest level in nearly seven months, peaking at 4.59% on Thursday before retreating to 4.53% at Friday’s close. This was a significant rise from 4.15% two weeks earlier and a recent low of 3.62% on September 16. These higher yields weighed on the indices, creating selling pressure throughout the week.

Year-to-date, the Nasdaq Composite leads all indices with a 31.4% gain. The S&P 500 is up 22.7% YTD, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 14.1% YTD, and the Russell 2000 is up 10.7% YTD.

Last Week’s Top Gainers

• Healthcare: MESO (+19.96%), ALLO (+17.91%), PBYI (+12.73%), OMER (+12.46%)
• Consumer Discretionary: DESP (+32.05%), PLYA (+27.89%), HMC (+20.26%), GRPN (+15.77%), SERV (+11.88%), TM (+11.8%)
• Information Technology: CMTL (+12.47%), GDS (+12.45%)

Relative Strength Areas

• Short-Term Futures: VXX (+4.81%)
• U.S. Natural Gas: UNG (+2.6%)
• U.S. Oil: USO (+1.01%)

Overall, the indices’ chart patterns and underlying technicals suggest a potential topping process. While another short-term push higher could occur following last week’s oversold conditions, traders should remain cautious heading into the January 8–12 time frame, where a deeper retracement may begin.

As always: Trade What You See Technically, Not What You Think.

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