The New Wild Card

With another
wild card
thrown into the situation, namely the Mideast, it becomes
more imperative that you, as a trader, refrain from trying to predict what may
or may not happen to the market.

As always, and no matter how bleak
things may seem at times, the market will eventually show the colors of another
bull move.

When this will happen is beyond
anyone’s guess.

Meanwhile, the Naz is a textbook
example, as the November-December run-up was, of the inadequacies of relying on
an overbought/oversold oscillator as the only tool with which to guide you.

Extremely oversold is out of the
ordinary.

And as I’ve mentioned in the past,
it’s the extraordinary, or unexpected, that is of prime consequence.

Seeing the banks and brokers get cut
up Thursday to the tune of 5% just isn’t encouraging, let alone the
head-and-shoulders top that the brokers completed last Friday.

In the bells, EMC
(
EMC |
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set a
three-session intraday high before failing and going out at the bottom of its
range.

Among the names, Cell Therapeutics
(
CTIC |
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,
a good actor, showed strength for the second day.

Check Point
(
CHKP |
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was heavily
distributed for the second day, and just another kink in the glamours’ armor.

Juniper
(
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reports earnings
after the close…given the “ominous” pattern it is forming, it will
be most interesting to see what the market’s reaction is.

Micromuse
(
MUSE |
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completed a
short-term head-and-shoulders.

Ariba
(
ARBA |
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is ensconced in a
seven-day descending triangle right on its 200-day, and is vulnerable.

There are a few issues that stubbornly
refuse to cave, BEA
(
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being one.

But, overall, the growth sector looks
plain heavy.

Plain heavy, with no inkling, hint, or
clue that the clouds are ready to part.