FCX gaps down below $20

FCX has just gapped down below $20 producing a potential bear flag on the weekly chart. This is a good near-term trading opportunity but this is very short-term only - as earnings are due out on 22nd January. However, if the downtrend stays in play, earnings could add to the bearish momentum.

It took over 18 months for price to break below the June 2013 pivot low but, since then, the bear trend has developed well. Price didn't really retest the $26 level. But the recent December/January pullback acted as an appropriate countermove - without being so prolonged that we could not take yesterdays gap as a shorting signal.

Volume was also high on the gap down. It would've been preferable if the bar had been a bit more bearish but, with the gap and $20 offering resistance, a near-term short looks good.