March 19, 2024

The NightCap

The Market: A lower close for all 4 main indices on the WSC Scoreboard as the Russell 2000 (IWM) led to the downside while the NASDAQ (QQQ) was the relative outperformer. The Retail (XRT) sector was the biggest loser on the WSC Scoreboard followed closely by Energy (XLE).  Unlike some other sectors, the XRT is not heavily weighted in a few stocks and, as of 11/10/15, has no stock weighted more than 1.27% so when you see strong moves up or down, like today, it is due to a majority of the names trading in that direction.  Bucking the trend…

The NightCap

The Market: A late day rally helped the market close well off the midday lows but all 4 major indices on the WSC Scorobard still finished down near or over 1%.  Based on the recent action, we expect to see lower levels in the short-term. In individual sectors, Retail (XRT) was the hardest hit sector on the WSC Scorboard with Priceline (PCLN) finishing down over 9% on the session after reporting EPS which beat expectations but guidance that fell short.  We will be watching Ctrip.com (CTRP) which is scheduled to report EPS tomorrow, November 10th, after the close — CTRP…

China & Buffett support stong session

The Market: A strong overnight session in China which was triggered by changes to the latest monetary policy report and also on reports that China will overhaul state-owned enterprises helped get the market started and then Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) helped fan the fire by first purchasing Precision Cast Part (PCP) for $235/share in cash and then during an interview noted that he likes IBM (IBM) and answered a question about if he is buying that people should check the SEC filings in the coming days.  The Dow (DIA) led today’s rally. Energy (XLE) was the biggest…

Dollar ralley continues as Market slides

Index & Sector performance 3/10/15 The Market: A strong down session across the board with no index or sector spared.  We noted yesterday that the action to the upside appeared to not have conviction and today the lack of buying turned into selling.  Traders pointed to concerns over the eventual rate hike from the Fed and the strength in the Dollar as reasons for concern. We expect to see some form of a bounce as we have started to see positive divergence set-up on the shorter term intraday charts of the S&P 500 (SPY) and NASDAQ (QQQ) but any moves…

Greece rules headlines in slow session

Index & Sector performance 2/9/15 The Market: Losses across the WSC Scoreboard with the Russell 2000 (IWM) leading the way followed by the Dow (DIA), which was affected by McDonald’s (MCD) finishing down 1.35% after reporting a drop in January sales of 1.8%.  Otherwise traders seem focused on the continued fighting between Greece and the Eurozone. Energy was the only sector on the WSC Scoreboard to finish higher but it wasn’t by much and was helped by Oil continuing its recovery.  Today’s biggest laggard was HeathCare (XLV) which finished down 1.18% followed by Transportation (IYT) down 0.99% and Utilities (XLU)…

Low volume drift higher

Index & Sector performance 11/10/14 The Market: Without any key news or economic data the market was happy to drift with the trend which is higher.  This drift higher in the markets has created some negative divergence on the intraday charts so we would not be surprised to see downside action early in the week.  However, at this time we would expect the losses to be contained and ultimately for that initial dip to be a buying opportunity for short term traders. Stand out sector to the upside was Transportation (IYT) which finished the day 1.34% higher followed by HealthCare…

Market continues higher on low volume

Index & Sector performance 8/13/14 The Market: Monday was a solid up day to follow-up on Friday’s move but one concerning aspect was how the indices finished noticeably off the intraday highs.  That trend continued taking the indices lower in Tuesday’s session but the losses were contained and today it was back up as all 4 indices on the WSC Scoreboard finished higher with the NASDAQ (QQQ) leading the charge. In individual sectors there were three standouts with HealthCare (XLV) the biggest winner finishing the day up 1.21% followed by a tie for second with both the Industrials (XLI) and…

Markets stop slide, fight back

Index & Sector performance 8/4/14 The Market: After two strong down days, all 4 indices on the WSC Scoreboard managed to find bottoms and rally with the Russell 2000 (IWM) leading the charge finishing the day 0.89% higher.  One note of caution, volume was on the light side when compared to the previous two sessions.  Our suggestion would be to watch the first major pullback after today’s move.  If it is orderly then the market likely has unfinished business to the upside, otherwise we will likely see another push lower. In individual sectors it was green across the board except…

Financial earnings remain focus for week

Index & Sector performance 7/14/14 The Market: All four major indices on the WSC Scoreboard finished equally higher in today’s action.  We continue to be most interested in the Russell 2000 (IWM) and the fact that the Small Caps are not enjoying as solid of a year as the other major indices.  We ultimately believe for further gains the small caps need to be involved. In individual sectors the WSC Scoreboard was led by Energy (XLE) which finished up 0.87%.  Also finishing higher on the WSC Scoreboard was the Financials (XLF) which saw Citigroup (C) beat earnings this morning and…

S&P takes back overnight losses plus

Index & Sector performance 5/5/14 The Market: The S&P futures moved lower in the Sunday overnight session attributed to weak economic data out of China as well continued unrest in Ukraine.  The futures continued lower throughout early trading Monday but found a bottom right at the open on an initial spike lower to 1860.50ES which was quickly bought and the index started a march higher reaching 1880ES by 2:30 pm ET.  The index spent the last hour consolidating the near 20 point intraday rally.  If 1872ES holds in overnight trading it appears the index could look to make a move…