Crosscurrents R Us
This was a typical
late-year session, replete with upward bias, outperformance by the R2K and
tertiaries, and plenty of crosscurrents.
The financials located the winner’s
circle for the fourth day in a row.
As noted previously, at some point the
market will look across the valley of slower earnings growth and focus on the
backdrop of shrinking rates, both short and long.
The operative words here are “at
some point.”
At this juncture, however, the market
isn’t sure exactly how slow the slowdown will be.
That uncertainty is the reason why the
50-basis-point Q1 Fed cut that’s already baked in the cake hasn’t provided
enough octane for the market’s engine.
Though there are few valid,
intermediate-term setups in tech, other opportunities lie elsewhere, if not in
abundance.
Anaren Microwave
(
ANEN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
mentioned Wednesday, broke out of a sloppy, multimonth formation on good volume.
Comverse
(
CMVT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) remains in good
shape as it moves to the top of a 10-month base.
Fuelcell
(
FCEL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) has come on
nicely in the past two days, though on average volume, as it crosses the
midpoint of its three-month base.
Invitrogen
(
IVGN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is nearing the
top of an eight-week ascending triangle.
Weatherford
(
WFT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is notable for
its picture-perfect cup, as well as its RS line, which crossed into new high
ground two weeks ago despite price being a point or so away from record turf.
Trigon Healthcare
(
TGH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), showing
good accumulation over the past four weeks, closed in on the top of its six-week
base.
Though not as constructive as Trigon,
Wellpoint
(
WLP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is another HMO that’s perched just below the top of its
pattern.
BEA
(
BEAS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), benefiting from an
excellent outlook for enterprise software concerns, is one of the best-acting
glamours as it works on a nine-week base.