Merci

Your standard
trend day
, with beaucoups participation in all the right
places, the likes of which have been seen once a week recently.

The macro picture for the Naz over the
past three weeks is stand-up, with the accumulation-distribution score running
6-1.

Good buying of speculative names.

This has been one ingredient in the
bull recipe lacking for most of the post-March 10 period.

The semis tossed aside the Texan’s
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negative surprise and warning to rise modestly, with almost two winners for each
loser.

It would be healthy to see this group
pull back or go sideways for a spell given the fat gains — 33% on average —
over the past three weeks.

Meanwhile, more bad news was ignored.

For example, Cypress Semi
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warned after beating estimates, and its stock rose.

And Dell
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tacked on 3%
following Monday’s warning.

Last week’s positive guidance from IBM
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hoisted it near the top of the heap as far as tech benchmarks go…It
has been many years since I considered the stock to be a bellwether in terms of
sentiment…But its ability to locate the midpoint of its base is more than most
other bells can boast…Thus, it deserves some attention.

Microsemi
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emerged from its
high handle on brisk activity.

Neuberger Berman
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is working
on a six-week base.

Illinois Tool Works
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appears
ready to test the top of its eight-month saucer.

The opticals — the cutting edge of
the speculative sentiment — acted very well, something that wasn’t the case
recently.

One fiber optic component maker,
recent new issue Optical Communications
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, appears to be constructing
a handle to go with its 11-week bowl.

Another, Oplink
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, though
only about halfway up the right side of its base, is also under extreme
accumulation.

But XXIA
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came under
distribution in the wake of Monday’s breakout, reflective of the caution still
being seen at the most critical spot on the tape: the breakout.