Friday’s Top Stocks
You could almost bet the ‘Bank’–that it was going to be a choppy affair, as
investors and traders tried to unwind many existing option hedges that are set
to expire tomorrow….oh yeah, and in other news, somebody really was betting
on the ‘Bank’–Bank One is being acquired by JP Morgan Chase. Lots of cross-currents
coming in to the day didn’t help ease the intraday volatility either, as bad
news out of Intel and Yahoo! (or should I say not as good news as many had hoped
for) was offset by the merger news, and then some intraday better-than-expected
economic report also helped squeeze some upside fuel, burning a few more shorts
in the process. So don’t let the fractional numbers fool ya’–bottom line, gains
of approximately .10% in all of our ETF friends was a lot more hair-raising
than the closing numbers indicate–’cause all said and done, volatility within
our five-day trading range was alive and present, but the trading in this lil’
corner of the world was marginal at best.
Status quo in this corner. Well, that’s not entirely true–I’m seeing more
and more action that lends itself to anything but high-probability intraday
trading. Today was probably a little worse than usual with some of the little
jiggles and wiggles that might have shaken you out of a decent position, because
of the forementioned options unwinding that typically happens on the day before
expiration–but, speaking personally–that’s just the icing on the cake as far
as recent market action is concerned. Good breakouts are harder and harder to
come by (as should be the case by this point in time). Those that are ‘trying’
are not exactly doing it like they were a couple of weeks ago, and lastly those
that have broken out in more days–are doing a whole lot more testing through
the the breakout triggers, rather than making it a worthwhile environment for
which to take the triggers. If you still have the stomach for it, and it continues
to work, then maybe I’ll move my chair into your corner–otherwise I’ll just
keep on focusing on the thing that typically makes lots of ‘cents’, namely disciplined,
consistent daytrading.
Volatility Readings:
| Volatility Index | Close | Net Change | Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average | Significance |
| VXO ( $VXO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
16.23 | down .47 | none | 0% | not at extreme |
| VXN ( $VXN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
22.64 | down .52 | none | 1% below | not at extreme |
Hottest Sectors : Semiconductors
(
SMH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) and Biotech
(
BBH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Weakest Sectors :Â Oil Services
(
OIH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
and Gold/Silver (XAU)
Friday’s stocks to watch:
Technical Strength Top of Range.
Stocks are scanned from TM’s Proprietary and Technology 10 Momentum lists on
the Indicators page, as well as being hand selected, based on the most recent
technical action. This may include some or all of the following: abnormal
volume, price patterns, as well as bullish action off of technical price
supports or clearance of technical resistance in that day’s session.
| Name | Symbol | Price | Technical Strength | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Marvel | ( MVL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
32.66 | High volume b/o of cup and handle triggers, closing highs of session |
948 | 2,318 |
| Pacific Internet | ( PCNTF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
9.66 | Top of range consolidation at daily handle triggers on increased, above average volume |
127 | 339 |
| Corning | ( GLW | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
12.42 | Testing weekly b/o triggers on increased volume | 11,139 | 9,818 |
Technical Weakness Bottom of Range.
Stocks are scanned from TM’s Implosion and Technology Implosion Lists on the
Indicators page, as well as being hand selected, based on the most recent
technical action. This may include some or all of the following: abnormal
volume, price patterns, as well as bearish technical action at key support,
or resistance levels based on closing prices.
| Name | Symbol | Price | Technical Strength | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Cerner | ( CERN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
37.36 | Low of day close in Low RS issue, slightly thru consolidation supports on daily |
722 | 521 |
| Schnitzer | ( SCHN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
50.25 | Descending intraday triangle on increased, above average volume, near bottom of daily trading range supports |
977 | 1,225 |
Stock Reversal Setups Closing Basis.
Stocks that are setting up on a closing basis as potential long or short reversal pattern
candidates. Candidates listed may have triggered on a closing basis, or close
to triggering ( my general rule is to list the pattern setup if it is within
+/-.15 of trigger price). Patterns include basing patterns (Slim Jims, 1,2,3s,
Double bottoms) consolidations, and triangle reversals. Background technical
supports in the form of Fibonacci levels, EMAs (DEMA=daily ema), RS, and former
price action are used in the decision making process.
Long Reversals Closing Basis.
| Name | Symbol | Price | Technical Strength | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Short Reversals Closing Basis.
| Name | Symbol | Price | Technical Strength | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Institutional Favorites and Institutional Laggards.
The following stocks are selected from the Nasdaq, S&P 500 & 600 Indices,
and HOLDRs. These are normally heavily traded, liquid issues that are exhibiting
relative strength or weakness, patterns (consolidations or Slim Jims) , or
last hour volume surges, indicative of follow through in the very near term.
Institutional Favorites
| Name | Symbol | Price | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Adobe | ( ADBE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
38.45 | 3,433 | 5,050 |
| Marvell Technology | ( MRVL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
43.20 | 2,972 | 3,194 |
| Paychex | ( PAYX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
35.31 | 2,365 | 3,493 |
Institutional Laggards.
| Name | Symbol | Price | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Dell | ( DELL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
34.88 | 15,512 | 22,701 |
| Nextel | ( NXTL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
26.92 | 13,049 | 34,893 |
Best of luck to everyone. Please use protective stops on all trades.