Monday’s Top Stocks
Overbought conditions, options expiration, rumors of terror alert upgrades…all
add up to, or was that down–actually neither, as it equals a ‘mixed bag’, and
some pretty treacherous trading in ‘cautious bull’s ‘ opinion. As we are quickly
approaching the holiday, today’s action wasn’t really the kind of gift that
I’d like to receive all too often. Ironically, volume levels picked up, and
were above-average in both the Dow Jones and Nasdaq cash, while the S&P
traded slightly less, but still above-average. If I were take a wild guess though,
most of that trade volume was probably block prints associated with unwinding
positions and a mid-day spike attributed to the rumor mill, and not necessarily
indicative of quality intraday action. Who knows?? Well, somebody else maybe,
but seriously–with the indices closing between the unchanged level to down
.25% within the ongoing saga between bulls, bears, and pigs, all that I really
care about right now is T.G.I.F.
More of the same within the market’s confirmed rally–unfortunately. Today
capped off what I personally considered to be a less-than-high-probability week
of consistent trading. There were a few pockets of opportunity in the realm
of what I typically look for–but all in all, I’ll be glad to start fresh and
bring forth the New Year. Options expiration is out of the way, but there’s
sure to be some interesting (not necessarily high-probability) action next week
in holiday-abbreviated trade.
The trend is still up, but it’s just not a place that I’m willing to place
any real bets as the list against still persists: volatility levels, most growth
stocks still entrenched in weekly bases (a good thing, but worth waiting for),
and current leadership stretched from solid bases and MAs. Maybe you have your
own list of ingredients that tell you otherwise, and that’s quite all right
because that’s what makes up a market. As long as you can continue to keep it
real, and in your own account with proper money management–kudos to you. Because,
regardless of which way the market ultimately goes–our goal is to stick it
out with the disciplined, consistent daytrading tactics that got us this far
in the first place.
Volatility Readings:
| Volatility Index | Close | Net Change | Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average | Significance |
| VXO ( $VXO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
16.09 | down .19 | cvr 1,6 sell | 1% below | not at extreme |
| VXN ( $VXN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
24.90 | up .37 | cvn 6 sell | 6% below | not at extreme |
Hottest Sectors : Internet
(
HHH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Weakest Sectors :Â Software
(
SWH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Monday’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 |
| KB Homes | ( KBH | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
70.04 | Top of range consolidation on increased, above-average trade within weekly high level base |
978 | 1,972 |
| Secure Computing | ( SCUR | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
14.90 | Hammer daily thru key MA resistance on increased, ‘relative’ volume, within weekly basing pattern |
416 | 354 |
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 |
| Polycom | ( PLCM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
18.48 | Bottom of range close on increased heavy trade (second day), breaking daily technical supports |
1,502 | 5,421 |
| Finish Line | ( FINL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
28.35 | continuation bar lower on daily, increased, above average trade within deteriorating technical condition |
370 | 1,140 |
| Odessey Health | ( ODSY | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
28.93 | Engulfing bearish bar on increased, above average volume, w/in daily consolidation, closing bottom of range |
602 | 849 |
| Amdocs | ( DOX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
22.46 | Kings & Queens reversal bars on daily, failing at 50-Day MA resistance zone, closing low of day |
2,035 | 1,535 |
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 |
| eBay | ( EBAY | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
61.37 | 9,011 | 12,392 |
| NVIDIA | ( NVDA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
21.07 | 6,235 | 7,631 |
| Gilead Sciences | ( GILD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
59.40 | 4,352 | 3,762 |
Institutional Laggards.
| Name | Symbol | Price | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Adobe | ( ADBE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
38.88 | 3,588 | 5,188 |
| Paychex | ( PAYX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
36.52 | 2,236 | 12,181 |
| Checkpoint | ( CHKP | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
16.62 | 3,106 | 4,580 |
Best of luck to everyone. Please use protective stops on all trades.
Chris Tyler