S&P 500 Index showing an important pivot point at 2853. Real Time Economic Calendar provided by Investing.com. *** Stocks highlighted are for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice to purchase or to sell mentioned securities. As always, the use of technical and fundamental analysis is encouraged in order to fine tune entry and exit points to average seasonal trends. Stocks Entering Period of Seasonal Strength Today: Subscribers – Click on the relevant link to view the full profile. Not a subscriber? Signup here. Deckers Outdoor Corp. (NYSE:DECK) Seasonal Chart Quidel Corp. (NASD:QDEL) Seasonal Chart Westshore Terminals Investment Corp. (TSE:WTE.TO) Seasonal Chart G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (NASD:GIII) Seasonal Chart Destination XL Group, Inc. (NASD:DXLG) Seasonal Chart Blackbaud Inc. (NASD:BLKB) Seasonal Chart The Markets Stocks closed lower on Wednesday as investors continue to attempt to gauge the outcome of the brewing trade war between the US and China. The S&P 500 Index closed lower by just less than three-tenths of one percent, continuing to hover around the 2853 pivot point highlighted in yesterday’s report. Market participants are attempting to peg a low around present levels, but they do not appear willing to accumulate risk until headlines suggest otherwise. Investors continue to gyrate towards the defensive areas of the market, including consumer staples, health care, and utilities in preparation for further equity market weakness ahead. In the Seasonal Advantage Portfolio that we manage in partnership with Castlemoore, we have been overweight these defensive sectors since since the start of May, taking advantage of the seasonal tendency for strength of the market constituents through the end of summer. Interested in learning more? Email us at seasonalportfolio@equityclock.com. On schedule for the Wednesday session, the weekly status of petroleum inventories in the US was released. The Energy Information Administration reports that oil stockpiles increased by 4.7 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles rose 3.7 million barrels. The result elevated the days of supply of oil to 28.9, from 28.6 previous. This is the third highest days of supply for this time of year in over three decades, far exceeding the average for the mid-May period of 23.4. Subscribers received further insight and analysis on the state of the energy market, including what to look out for in order to become enticed by investments in the sector. Subscribe now. On the economic front, a report on retail sales in Canada continues to point to healthy consumer spending in this country. Statscan reports that retail sales increased by 1.1% in March, which is slightly weaker than the 1.2% increase that was forecasted by analysts. The result follows an upwardly revised print for February when sales are indicated to have increased by 1.0%. Stripping out the seasonal adjustments, sales actually increased by 21.0% in the third month of the year, which is stronger than the 19.1% rise that is average for the final month of the first quarter. The result places the year-to-date change 7.7% above the seasonal average trend, which is the best first quarter change in over two decades. Subscribe now to receive our updates and analysis intraday. Sentiment on Wednesday, as gauged by the put-call ratio, ended bullish at 0.94. Seasonal charts of companies reporting earnings today: S&P 500 Index TSE Composite