AU generated another green weekly close and closed in the upper half of the week's trading range, suggesting further upside above last week's high at 15.28 will be seen this week. Nonetheless, the bulls were still unable to make any kind of bull statement, given that the stock remained below the pivotal daily and weekly close support at 14.78 that when broken, caused the 2-year low at 13.46 to occur. With the stock having closed at 14.72 on Friday, next Friday's close is pivotal. On the daily closing chart though, the same 14.78 level is of importance but if the bulls are able to generate a daily close above 15.11, a new buy signal will be given and that should stimulate the bulls substantially. If all of that does occur, the first level of daily close resistance above is at 16.19/16.27 (minor but short-term pivotal). If that gets broken, the 200-week MA, currently at 19.68 will become the target as there is no resistance of any consequence between those 2 levels. As far as daily close support, it is now found at 14.46 and more indicative at 14.14. If the stock closes below 14.14, the bears will gain additional ammunition. With Gold having generated a small breakout on Friday, the probabilities do favor the bulls.

CAT has now bounced 16.3% from the lows made 3 weeks ago and did close near the high of the week, suggesting further upside above last week's high at 199.49 will be seen this week. The company reports earnings on Tuesday AM and that is going to be a pivotal report. I checked on another 5 manufacturing machine companies and they all had strong weeks, meaning that anticipation of the earnings report of the company itself is not what drove the price up. The stock is now close to the 200-week MA, currently at 204.94, and it is unlikely that line will be broken on a weekly closing basis. In fact, there is a lot of established resistance, both intraweek and on a daily closing basis, around the $204 to $207 level that is highly unlikely to be broken. The probabilities of getting up to the $205 level on Monday (based on the action on Friday that saw the stock move up 5% in value) are high as that would only require a 3.5% move on Monday to reach that level. Nonetheless and as most non-Tech companies have done during this earnings quarter, it is unlikely the company will beat the earning numbers that are expected (higher chance of lower earnings being reported than not). As such, if the stock gets up above $204 on Monday, I will short additional shares (before the report). There is an unclosed gap at 203.01 that will be a target for closure on Monday. Intraweek support is now found at 194.04 that if broken, would generate some worry to the bulls. Further support is found at $191 and then at $188. If the earnings report is negative and the stock indexes start heading lower, the downside objective would likely be a minimum of a drop down to $176. Probabilities favor the bears for a red weekly close next Friday. Failure to achieve this week the highs mentioned above, would open the door for a new low below $167 to be seen by the end of September.

ENG made a new 18-week intraweek and weekly closing high and did close near the high of the week, suggesting further upside above last week's high at 1.52 will be seen this week. A lot of positive chart work was done successfully by the bulls as a new buy signal was given on both the daily and weekly closing chart and the 200-day Mam currently at 1.41, was broken to the upside on Thursday and the break confirmed on Friday. Nonetheless, the bulls have more work to do as the 200-week MA is currently at 1.61 and there is midterm pivotal weekly close resistance at 1.50, both of which need to be broken for the bulls to gain back control. Daily close support is found at 1.39 and again at 1.30. A break of the latter would give the bears back the edge. The company reports earnings on August 11th, suggesting that this coming week, some further (but limited) upside will be seen with the 1.61 level as the objective for a weekly close next Friday, before the earnings report comes out and gives the traders enough information to continue higher or fall back. Probabilities favor the bulls this week.

LI generated follow through to the downside and a 2nd red weekly close. The stock closed in the lower half of the week's trading range, suggesting a slightly higher probability of going below last week's low at 31.67 than above last week's high at 35.43. Nonetheless, the bulls were able to prevent another and very pivotal failure signal on the weekly closing chart, having closed on Friday at 32.84 and the pivotal support area being between 32.10 and 32.67, suggesting the bears are not yet in control in spite of 19.5% drop seen the past 5 weeks. It is evident that the 19.5% drop is telling given that a 20% drop in price would turn the trend from bull to bear. It does mean though, that a green weekly close next Friday is a must for the bulls in order to keep the uptrend intact. There has been no negative fundamental news on the company, meaning that the probabilities favor the bulls this week for a green close next Friday.

NEM confirmed the break of the 200-week MA, having generated a 2nd red weekly close below the 200-week MA, currently at 52.56. The stock reported earnings on Monday and they were worse than expected (especially the guidance number), and that gave the bears all the ammunition they needed to take the stock lower. The stock closed in the lower half of the week's trading range, suggesting further downside below 44.00 will be seen this week. Nonetheless and in favor of the bulls, the low for the week was made on Monday and the bears were unable to take the stock lower thereafter. With Gold having generated failure signal against the bears, it does open the door for an inside week to occur this week, where last week's low at 44.00 and last week's high at 53.16 will not be broken this week. There are 18 analysts following the stock and after the report, they all expect a recovery with the low estimate being $52 and the high estimate being $79. Median estimate is $62. My own chart evaluation suggests that $58 is the likely upside objective. The $52 level is where the 200-week MA is currently at, and a retest of that line is a high probability given that the stock has stayed above the line for 6 years in a row. Important daily and weekly close support is found between 43.91 and 44.29. A confirmed break of that area would further weaken the chart. Probabilities favor the bulls.

PLNHF generated a failure against the bears on the daily closing chart on Tuesday, having closed above a previous and pivotal daily close support at 1.88. The failure signal was confirmed with closes above (or at) that level the rest of the week. The stock closed in the middle of the week's trading range, suggesting equal chances of going above last week's high at 2.12 or below last week's low at 1.61.Nonetheless, the stock has now rallied 49% from the recent low weekly close, meaning the downtrend has ended and an uptrend has begun. On a weekly closing basis, the 2.00-2.07 level is pivotal for the midterm. A confirmed weekly close above 2.07 would suggest a rally up to the $2.60-$2.70 level would ensue within 4-6 weeks, while a failure to close above that level this week will keep the stock trading between 1.50 and 2.00 for a few more weeks. The latter is more probable as the earnings report is not due out for another 4 weeks.

PRTS made a new 3-week low but then turned around to close in the upper half of the week's trading range, suggesting further upside above last week's high at 8.39 will be seen this week. One important positive note is that for the first time in the past 20 weeks, the stock has generated confirmation of a break above the 200-week MA. The stock had closed above the line twice before on 2 occasions but had generated a failure signal the very next week. On this occasion, the break was confirmed with the stock closing the last 2 weeks at 8.36 and on Friday at 7.98 and the MA line being at 7.96. Then again, the bulls have more work to do to make a statement as the 6-month intraweek high at 8.96 has not yet been broken even though the stock shows 3 highs since, at 8.67, at 8.54. and 3 weeks ago at 8.92. As such, the bulls need to get above 8.96 so that the bulls fully climb aboard. Pivotal intraweek support is presently found at 6.84 but if the stock goes above last week's high at 8.39 this week (likely), last week's low at 7.09 will become pivotal support. Probabilities favor the bulls but slightly.

SHOP bulls failed to follow through to the upside given that the company reported lower than expected earnings on Tuesday and dropped 16.6% in value because of it. Nonetheless, the bulls were able to recover and close the gap created and close only 8% below the previous week's close. The stock closed in the upper half of the week's trading range, suggesting further upside above last week's high at 37.43 will be seen this week. Pivotal intraweek resistance is found at 40.68, which if broken would open the door for a rally up to the $50 or even perhaps to the $60 level. Last week's low at 30.55 is now pivotal support, meaning that a stop loss can now be raised to 30.45. Probabilities slightly favor the bulls.

VIPS generated a new 8-week weekly closing low and a new 9-week intraweek low and closed near the low of the week, suggesting further downside below last week's low at 8.96 will be seen this week. For the first time since June 6th, the stock closed below the 200-day MA, currently at 9.36. If the break of the line is confirmed on Monday, new selling interest will be seen. Nonetheless, the stock closed on the high of the day on Friday, suggesting the first course of action for the week will be to the upside. This is the first sign of weakness seen in the last 2 months and if the indexes start heading lower, it is likely the stock will do the same. The company reports earnings on August 17th but the traders are not likely to wait if the stock does not immediate negate the break of the 200-day MA. As such, I am leaning toward liquidating the positions at a small loss, if the stock closes indicatively below 9.36 on Monday. Downside target is the 7.50-7.76 level is last week's low is broken. Probabilities slightly favor the bears.

VNET generated a positive reversal week, having gone below the previous week's low and then above the previous week's high and closing green. The stock closed very slightly in the upper half of the week's trading range, suggesting a very slightly higher chance of going above last week's high at 5.60 than below last week's low at 4.69. On a positive note that does favor the bulls, the stock gapped up on Wednesday and made a new 15-day intraweek high but given there was no news to support the gap, the gap was targeted for closure and did get closed on Friday, suggesting that the mood among the traders is more positive than negative. On the other hand tough, neither the bulls nor the bears have had any control of even an edge for the past 3 weeks, suggesting they may be waiting for the earnings report than comes out in 3 weeks (August 23). As such, the probabilities very slightly favor the bulls but on a limited basis.

ZLAB generated a red week and a close in the lower half of the week's trading range, suggesting further downside below last week's low at 38.81 will be seen this week. The stock did generate a small failure signal against the bulls, having closed on Friday below the previous high daily close at 41.41 (closed at 40.53) that will slightly weaken the chart for the short term. On the other side of the coin and on the weekly closing chart, there has been no negative weekly close action, meaning that if the failure signal is not negated on Monday, further downside to the 38.00 level is likely to be seen. Then again, the stock did have a gap down at 39.30 that was targeted for closure as it was not supported by news. The gap was closed on Friday and that suggests that the failure signal will not be confirmed on Monday and that the bulls will resume the recent uptrend. Short term pivotal resistance is found at 43.91 and pivotal support at 35.05. Probabilities favor the bulls.