Russell outperforms in ugly session
Index & Sector performance 10/13/14 The Market: Another 1+% down day across the major indices on the WSC Scoreboard except for the Russell 2000 (IWM) which finished the session down only 0.42%. YTD the IWM is still the clear loser down 9.55% but today’s outperformance is interesting and something to watch. IWM’s underperformance starting earlier in the year was a warning so if it begins to outperform on a consistent basis going forward it should be noted. It does not feel like very long ago when the only down sector on the WSC Scoreboard Was Retail (XRT) but now we…
Tech leads quiet up session
Index & Sector performance 9/10/14 The Market: Administrative note: we will be traveling the remainder of the week so there will be no updates after tonight. A nice bounce back in the markets after yesterday’s late day sell off. The leader in the broad indices was the NASDAQ (QQQ) keying, again, off Apple (AAPL) which finished the session up 3.07%. After being a relative outperformer yesterday in a bad tape, HeathCare (XLV) was the leader on the WSC Scoreboard today finishing the session up 0.70%. Utilities (XLU), yesterday’s biggest loser, saw more downside follow-through finishing the session 0.44% lower. Also…
Utilities big loser ahead of Jobs data
Index & Sector performance 7/2/14 The Market: The WSC Scoreboard was relatively flat to mixed with the Dow (DIA), S&P 500 (SPY), and NASDAQ (QQQ) closing slightly higher while the Russell 2000 (IWM) finished 0.35% lower. In individual sectors, the Utilities (XLU) stood out as the biggest loser finishing 1.99% lower on the day and appears vulnerable to even more downside action after being the leader so far in 2014. Every stock in the XLU finished down on the day with some finishing down over 3% including Exelon (EXC), FirstEnergy (FE), and Entergy (ETR) down 3.11%, 3.50%, and 3.25% respectively. …
Indices take back losses plus
Index & Sector performance 5/22/14 The Market: Overall today was a quiet day in the market which saw green across the entire WSC Scoreboard with the Dow and NASDAQ leading the charge followed closely by the S&P and finally the Russell 2000 which is getting use to lagging. At 2pm EDT the FOMC minutes were released and discussed risks to the economy including U.S. housing, the Russia-Ukraine situation, and China’s economic slow down but this news did not appear to bother traders. Tomorrow is be the biggest economic data day of the week which includes Unemployment Claims and Existing Home…
S&P finds support at 20 day SMA
Index & Sector performance 3/12/14 The Market: Overnight trading took the S&P 500 futures index down to our target region of $1857-50 with the low of the session printing $1853.75ES right near the open which correlated with the S&P 500 cash index touching the 20 day SMA. From there we bounced and then spend the rest of the day consolidating in a flag which has broken to the upside in after hours but with not much gusto. Until the index clears the $1870-72.50ES area we will consider the potential for more downside. Tomorrow is the heaviest day of the week…
Early pop leads to late day drop
Index & Sector performance 3/11/14 The Market: The market rallied pre-market into the open, pulled back and went again but was unable to break through a pivot confluence resistance area. The pullback into the noon EST period started to consolidate but the MACD was telling that more downside was likely. As we reached the 2-2:30 pm EST time frame the S&P again started to weaken and broke to fresh lows for the day. We will be watching for $1860ES and then further $1850ES for support levels. On the S&P500 cash index the 20 day SMA comes in around $1853. In…
Analyst Comments
Since breaking out of a trading range back in October 2013, Alcoa (AA) has been a strong performer gaining over 50%. With the stock trading around $9.24, Goldman Sachs upgraded AA to Buy with an $11 price target on 11/25/13 and later upped that target to $12 which AA reached in less than 2 months. This action has prompted Goldman Sachs to review AA again and instead of going to a Neutral, they are upping their price target once again this time to $15. We agree with Goldman that it appears AA has more left in the tank but it…
Market reaches target, now what?
Index & Sector performance 2/10/14 The Market: A light volume start to the week and a very tight trading range with the S&P 500 cash trading in an 8 point range and even including early trading in the futures the entire day stayed within a 9.25 point range. The following noteworthy companies are scheduled to report earnings before tomorrow’s open: CVS, S, REGN, RAI, MMC, OMC, PCG, HCP, IR, ETR, GWR Analyst Comments: The Game Plan: The S&P 500 (SPY) 60 minute chart has a potential inverse Head & Shoulder pattern which counts…
Early Gains quickly fade
Index & Sector performance 1/06/14 The Market: Pre-market optimism was met with early selling which took the S&P 500 from $137 on the open own to $1824 by midday. The market bounced along crafting a bottom until roughly 2pm EST when the S&P managed to rally off the lows. While it never made it back to the morning high, the S&P managed to rally back toward even on the day but then sold off in the last hour closing near the lows of the day. In economic news we saw Factory Orders and Services PMI come in as expected while…
S&P Futures play MA pinball
Index & Sector performance 12/16/13 The Market: The made strong gains today after what looked like a horrible start to the week. In overnight trading Sunday the S&P 500 dropped t0 $1754 (March 2014 emini contract) tagging the 50 day SMA and then built a rally off that support. Surprisingly by the morning the futures had not only regained everything that was lost from Sunday evening’s open but also but in some gains. Those who do not look at the futures may have never even known of the rough start. The futures then rallied pre-market to the 20 day SMA…