Wednesday’s Top Stocks
So would Ted Williams have stepped up to the plate today? The baseball legend
once said, ‘Wait for a good pitch to hit’–a saying that I posted in yesterday’s
column as those words resonated with me during the market’s light volume daily
trading range. Hmm, somebody must have seen one line up right over the plate
in Tuesday’s session. With today’s increased, above-average volume gains of
1.61% to 2.16% in both the S&P500 and the Nasdaq Composite–if it wasn’t
the ‘big leaguers’ or the likes of guys like Ted stepping up to the plate, then
it must have been the ‘short stops’ that wanted to drive one out of the market’s
level playing field and into the stands. After today’s rally, you know some
fans are yelling out ‘yahoo’–as it’s the only game they care to play.
Pesky charts, and who has time for lunch anyways? It seems both of these things
got in the way of this cautious bull’s participation in today’s grandest of
slams. No problem–if ‘this time’ it’s for real, there’s plenty out there that
still qualifies as bargain hunting material. If not, well let’s just say there’s
a few more charts that are setting up as shorts out there after today’s trade.
One day doesn’t change the technical condition of the intermediate downtrend,
although today will be marked as a Follow-Thru-Day or FTD in the Nasdaq Composite–six
days after its second attempt at an ‘attempted rally’ low. For those IBD’ers
out there this means looking for some breakout ideas in issues that qualify
on a fundamental and technical basis. Recent triggers that have led and continue
to hold up well are: WWCA, DRIV, and in today’s trade, ERES. Other issues from
my Intermediate-Term report that are close to doing the breakout thing are:
TEVA, PLT, and USPI.
Cross your fingers that it’s more than a case of ‘bull’, but don’t leave the
money management to any wishful thinking. If you play the breakouts, focus on
your own list of quality names. It’s true that a rising tide will float most
boats, but it’s also true that a small hole can sink a large ship–so at least
try to play the strongest candidates, if that’s how you chose to navigate the
market’s murky waters. For the rest of us, let’s hope for more than today’s
‘seventh inning stretch’ rally–and get back to our game of 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) |
15.91 | down 2.40 | cvr 3 sell | 19% below | at extreme |
| VXN ( $VXN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
21.90 | down 2.43 | cvn 3 sell | 18% below | at extreme |
Hottest Sectors : Internet
(
HHH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Weakest Sectors : Telecom
(
TTH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Wednesday’s stocks to watch:
Longs.
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 Assesment | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Abercrombie & Fitch | ( ANF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
36.14 | handle b/o on increased volume | 1,693 | 1,630 |
| Avid Technology | ( AVID | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
52.41 | Top of range consolidation on relative, above-average volume, closing thru pivot high within weekly base |
566 | 544 |
| Plantronics | ( PLT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
39.55 | Top of range close, approaching daily chart handle triggers | 450 | 383 |
^next^
Shorts.
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 Assesment | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Autozone | ( AZO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
83.38 | Bottom of range close on increased, above-average volume reversal bar |
1,091 | 2,197 |
| American Healthways | ( AMHC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
21.12 | Inside bar out of pullback from lows | 495 | 359 |
Institutional Longs and Institutional Shorts.
The following stocks are selected from the Nasdaq, S&P 500 & 600 Indices,
and HOLDRs.
Institutional Longs
| Name | Symbol | Price | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Teva Pharma | ( TEVA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
66.63 | 2,657 | 2,451 |
| Amgen | ( AMGN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
54.63 | 9,771 | 9,457 |
| Symantec | ( SYMC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
46.28 | 4,820 | 8,270 |
Institutional Shorts
| Name | Symbol | Price | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Nextel | ( NXTL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
22.40 | 13,344 | 22,062 |
| Genentech | ( DNA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
59.47 | 1,727 | 3,436 |
| Caterpillar | ( CAT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
74.65 | 2,511 | 2,633 |
| Research In Motion | ( RIMM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
115.37 | 5,912 | 10,972 |
Best of luck to everyone. Please use protective stops on all trades.
Chris Tyler