The Weekly Scorecard
Deere & Company (DE) demonstrated significant outperformance this week, establishing itself as a clear market leader. While the S&P 500 (SPY) and Nasdaq (QQQ) experienced sideways, choppy price action, DE pushed towards new highs, showcasing impressive relative strength.
This divergence highlights the importance of monitoring individual stock performance against the major indices. Investors can easily visualize this type of leadership using powerful charting tools; you can see the charts that matter on TrendSpider to identify similar opportunities.
Why It Moved
This week's strength was not driven by a specific company announcement but rather by positive macro tailwinds for the agricultural sector. Rising commodity prices, particularly for corn and soybeans, have improved the outlook for farm profitability. This directly correlates to potential future demand for Deere's high-margin equipment.
As investors position for a strong planting and harvest season, capital has rotated into best-in-class names like DE. The price action suggests the market is anticipating strong future earnings based on this favorable economic backdrop. For a deeper dive into its fundamentals, see this DE Analysis.
The Weekly Chart
The weekly candle for DE is unequivocally bullish. The stock closed the week at $585.67, just shy of its 52-week high of $587.74. This indicates that buyers were in control throughout the week and were willing to hold positions into the close, showing conviction in the upward trend.
Currently, the stock is consolidating right below the key resistance level, which is the all-time high. A close near the peak of the weekly range suggests an imminent test of this critical breakout point. There is no significant overhead supply, which could lead to an accelerated move if the high is breached.
Next Week's Playbook
The key level to watch for next week is the high of ~$588. A decisive break and close above this level on strong volume would signal a major technical breakout. With no prior price history above this point, a successful breakout could target psychological levels such as $600 and beyond.
Conversely, if the market faces macro headwinds or if DE fails at this resistance, look for a potential pullback. The first area of support to watch would be the $560-$565 zone, which represents a prior consolidation area. A failure to hold that level could see the stock retest the $550 support.
Content is for info only; not financial advice.