QQQ tried to break & hold above the top of the expected breakout failure range but was rejected & closed back towards the bottom of that zone with a fairly bearish stick on the 60-minute frame (not shown on this 15-minute chart). Awaiting a break below the 105.60 level for additional confirmation of the bull trap scenario. 15-minute chart:

QQQ 15-minute 3 May 9th

QQQ 15-minute 3 May 9th

While on the daily time frame, QQQ attempted but failed to regain & close back above the key 105.90 recently broken former support, now resistance level:

QQQ daily 2 May 9th

QQQ daily May 9th

SPY back-tested this recently broken pattern today, immediately moving lower. Next sell signal to come on a break below Friday’s low. Daily chart:

SPY daily 2 May 9th

SPY daily May 9th

After back-filling the 4/29 gap, GLD (gold ETF) rallied on Friday only to have all of those gains & then some wiped out via a gap down & continued move into the close… quite bearish price action, especially considering the strong negative divergences in place. Daily chart:

GLD daily 2 May 9th

GLD daily 2 May 9th

GDX printed a solid close below the rising wedge/uptrend line off the Jan lows, opening the door for a continued move down towards the 21.20 area. Daily chart:

GDX daily 2 May 9th

GDX daily 2 May 9th

Despite a the broad market trading positive throughout the most of the trading session, XOP traded red all day closing down over 2% but getting close to the 31.70/80 support area. Daily chart:

XOP daily May 9th

XOP daily May 9th

USO (crude oil etf) continues to crawl down the blue downtrend line while back-testing & with the 10.52 support level also just below. Should USO fail to bounce off these support levels, the white uptrend line below could come into play as the next support level/target. Daily chart:

USO daily May 9th

USO daily May 9th

XLE (energy sector etf) tagged & closed on dual support today: both the uptrend line as well as the 63.93 support level. Daily chart:

XLE daily May 9th

XLE daily May 9th

In summary, I remain near-term bearish on most equity sectors although crude oil & energy sector etfs such as XLE & XOP are at or very close to key support levels where a reaction is likely. As such, I remain neutral on the energy sector at this time while still near & intermediate-term bearish on precious metals & the mining sector as well as the broad market (SPY, QQQ, MDY, IWM, etc..).