U.S. stock exchange traded funds are bouncing within a narrowing range as markets contemplate their next major move before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech in Jackson Hole on Friday.
It was at that event a year ago that the Fed chief indicated the second round of quantitative easing, or QE3, was on the way, which triggered a fierce rally in risk assets, including stock ETFs. [Will Bernanke’s Jackson Hole Speech Save Stock ETFs?]
Some technical analysts note the S&P 500 has formed a so-called triangle consolidation pattern after the big sell-off that pushed the index down to 1,100.
“The vast majority of the time, triangles are trend continuation patterns,” writes Mike Paulenoff at MPTrader.com.
“The S&P 500 continues to ricochet between 1100 and 1200. That action is developing a bearish consolidation (as the prior trend was down),” adds Tarquin Coe, technical analyst at Investors Intelligence. “Its form is likely a triangle, which by its nature is agreeable with the current debate as to whether the U.S. is slipping into another recession or not.”