The Subsurface Groove
On the
surface, not a particularly impressive
session in the Naz, given the 0.7% rise in the Comp and the 0.5% climb in the
NDX.
But beneath the surface of the popular
averages, once again all the "right stocks" did the right things, with
very few issues in the bellwether, optical, bio, and other vogue segments coming
under distribution.
A good number of names that showed
strong institutional buying on Wednesday/Thursday came back on lighter volume.
Good.
It was the fourth straight day that
the Naz went out in the upper quartile of its intraday range, a plus.
Of note was the late round of buying
seen in a number of glamours.
At this point, there are so many
good-lookers in the growth sector that the challenge for the intermediate trader
is to somehow separate the better from the good.
This is where the relative strength
line can be worth its weight in gold.
Indeed, it’s the only indicator I like
to see on a chart.
In Monday activity, most bells gained,
with Intel
(
INTC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) retreating a minor fraction on higher volume.
EMC
(
EMC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) paused just shy of
record soil.
Our Group of Seven was mixed with a
higher bias…as time goes on, and as more and more stocks break out of bases,
the importance of tracking these early leaders diminishes.
Most opticals rose, thanks to
Corning’s earnings surprise, as did the bios.
Among the names, Ariba
(
ARBA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
backed off on big volume, perhaps forming a new pivot.
Ciena
(
CIEN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), in the midst of a
four-day pullback, eased on quiet volume.
Human Genome
(
HGSI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) held support
at 150 as it attempts to build a handle.
I Two
(
ITWO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) eased for the second
day following Thursday’s high-volume bolt to the top of a five-week range.
Interwoven
(
IWOV |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) also crept back
for the second session on dimming trade in the wake of a double over the prior
four weeks.
Portal Software
(
PRSF |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) was in the
second day of handle formation.
Redback
(
RBAK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) took out the low
of its two-week handle on big volume.
Sapient
(
SAPE |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) tiptoed back on
dimming turnover after Friday’s breakout from a six-week zone.
Virata
(
VRTA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gave minimal ground
after last week’s 61%, high-volume bolt.