General Motors shares close lower on Tuesday, company reports slower second-quarter vehicle sales growth in China

General Motors Companys (GM) second-quarter auto sales in China were reported to have increased a mere 0.7% year-on-year to 858 344 vehicles, slowing down from an 8% growth during the quarter ended in March, mostly due to weaker sales of Buick brand vehicles.

General Motors shares closed lower for the seventh time in the past eleven trading sessions in New York on Tuesday. The stock went down 1.34% ($0.53) to $38.97, with the intraday high and the intraday low being at $39.82 and $38.92 respectively.

Shares of General Motors Company have retreated 4.93% so far in 2018 compared with a 1.48% gain for the underlying index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, General Motors’ stock surged 17.65%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

Buick sales shrank 16% year-on-year to 230 454 vehicles during the second quarter, as the brand made a technology shift aimed at offering vehicle models with smaller-displacement, turbo-charged engines, according to a spokesperson for General Motors based in Shanghai.

“Buick is leading the industry in the deployment of the cutting-edge small displacement engines, but it takes time for sales to pick up after technology changeovers,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by Reuters. “We believe the adoption of these engines will be commonplace in China in the years ahead.”

On the other hand, General Motors and its joint venture partners in China sold the record 1.84 million vehicles in the country during the first six months of 2018, or 4.4% more compared to the same period a year earlier.

According to CNN Money, the 17 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding General Motors Companys stock price, have a median target of $52.00, with a high estimate of $70.00 and a low estimate of $39.00. The median estimate represents a 33.44% upside compared to the closing price of $38.97 on July 3rd.

The same media also reported that 13 out of 20 surveyed investment analysts had rated General Motors Company’s stock as “Buy”, while 7 – as “Hold”.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the General Motors stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $39.05
R2 – $39.14
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $39.22
R4 (Long Breakout) – $39.47
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $39.75
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $39.87

S1 – $38.89
S2 – $38.81
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $38.72
S4 (Short Breakout) – $38.48
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $38.19
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $38.07

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for General Motors Company (GM) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $40.03
R1 – $40.69
R2 – $41.98
R3 – $42.64
R4 – $43.30

S1 – $38.74
S2 – $38.08
S3 – $36.79
S4 – $35.50