April 27, 2024

Small gains break 5 day slide

Index & Sector performance 9/26/13 The Market: An early push higher on the S&P 500 was short lived and topped around 10 am EST falling all the way back to the open and even drifting into negative territory.  The market then bounced, failed and after retesting the days lows used the last hour to rally into the close. In economic news the Unemployment Claims data came in better than expected posting a 305K number when expectations were of 319K.  Unfortunately the remainder of the news was not as good with GDP coming in below expectations printing a 2.5% number when…

Charts to Watch

Occidental Petroleum (OXY):  After a nice trade off the 200 day SMA, OXY climbed its way higher to the longer term trend line finding initial resistance as would be expected.  Any pulbacks might be the last opportunity in this name before it looks to be on a trek to 100+.   Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF): Has been consolidating well after finally putting in what looks to be a bottom.  With the now upward sloping 50 day SMA as support and the downward sloping 200 day as resistance the battle lines are drawn and the action is tightening.  Breakout above the…

Charts to Watch

Apache (APA): The rally has continued to the 200 day SMA which would be expected first resistance.  Now watch for a pullback and how it acts to see if the bottom is in of if the stock has more work to do.  The MACD might be hinting to more work. Arch Coal (ACI):  Consolidating well and holding the recent gains well.  More action like this and it looks like there will be a strong base for a move toward the 200 day SMA. Apple (AAPL):  Continues to consolidate but without much downside action.  Watch above $514 with volume. Devon Energy (DVN):…

Charts to Watch

What ended up being a tough week for the market left many names I was following pulling back m0re than I would have desired but still intact.  While I believe it is always prudent to be looking at stocks from the short side, the longer term trend is still higher.  I think that it is VERY likely that we see the markets continue to consolidate and even lose ground but I think people tend to lose tract of their long ideas during these times and this is when you want to be watching them as if they hold in during…

Charts to Watch

Apple (AAPL) found initial resistance at the 200 day SMA which is to be expected on the first touch after so long but I would be watching the consolidation on this one for another trade opportunity.  Also watch the MACD to see if it can recycle. Arch Coal (ACI) pushed nicely into the 50 day SMA today.  This will be key to watch if it can get and stay above.  A move on strong volume might be further evidence that a short term bottom is in and could end up being a much longer term bottom.  I would use the…

Daily Wrap

DJIA -36.86 (-0.24%) to 15,521.97;S&P 500 -6.32 (-0.37%) to 1,685.33;NASDAQ -14.02 (-0.39%) to 3,599.14 Today the S&P 500 started with a small gap down that initially tried to rally back to Friday’s close but couldn’t hold and slipped lower until finding a bottom just before noon EST.  After gaining some traction the S&P rallied until roughly 2:30 EST before falling again in the last hour of trading but did not make new lows for the day. There was a notable merger in today’s news and while the stocks didn’t move very much, due to the size of the companies it was note worthy…

Occidental Petroleum (OXY)

Occidental Petroleum (OXY) looks to be crafting a long consolidation pattern which should be nearing completion.  In the shorter term it is possible that OXY might drop into the noted gray circle area but as long as it remains above the 200 day SMA and the higher uptrend line I will remain positive on the name. OXY should look to target much higher on a break first looking to fill the upside gap and then possibly challenge the 2012 highs.

Daily Wrap

DJIA +21.05 (+0.14%) to 14,839.80; S&P 500 +3.96 (+0.25%) to 1,597.57; NASDAQ +20.49 (+0.71%) to 2,887.44 Today saw some jockeying for position by the indices as they started the day moving lower and then recovered to close slightly up for the session.  In economic news the Case/Shiller index rose 1.2% from the previous month’s reading and topped estimates with a 9.3% vs 9.1% estimate.  Chicago PMI on the other hand fell short of estimates recording a 49 vs 52.5 estimate.  Consumer confidence came in mainly inline with a 68.1 vs 68.4 estimate. Before the open, Pfizer (PFE) reported earnings which missed on both revenues ($13.5B vs $14B) and EPS (54c…

Daily Wrap

DJIA -43.16 (-0.29%) to 14,676.30; S&P 500 +0.01 (+0.00%) to 1,578.79; NASDAQ -1.25 (-0.04%) to 2,834.12 Today was a consolidation day after yesterday’s strong move.  The action was general bouncing back and forth all day with not much to report except there was a late day rally which took the S&P to new highs for the day until roughly 3pm EST when it turned and sold off into the close. In economic data the only real surprise was US Durable Goods orders which came in much lower than expected with a -5.7% number when I had consensus estimates at a -2.9%.  Tomorrow we…

Daily Wrap

DJIA -44.23 (-0.32%) to 13,910.19; S&P 500 -5.89 (-0.39%) to 1,501.95; NASDAQ -11.35 (-0.36%) to 3,142.31 Today the markets moved lower and more decisively so compared to that other down day this.  What was also interesting is that the Small Caps lead the way down and generally I like to see the Small Caps lead (along with the Techs if I can get them).  This still has to be taken in stride based on the current trend in place but the recent action definitely does highlight the need for a consolidation as I have been calling for and also that…