Wednesday’s Top Stocks
It might not seem like that crazy of a day when looking at the small fractional
losses in both the Naz and S&P 500–especially considering that both indices
carved out inside-day action in technical lingo–but don’t let it fool ya’,
’cause March Madness is still alive and well in the marketplace. Bulls and Bears
had game today as the market absorbed everything from better-than-expected earnings
and an oversold technical condition, to more doom and gloom on the geopolitical
front, Medicare worries, and escalating commodity prices. All summed up, investors
had plenty to look at, but in the end the consensus was to travel further down
the road of an uncertain market climate, and further away from the lofty twin
peaks of conviction and bull. Hmmm?? Personally speaking, I like to take the
road less traveled, and with the indices down another .13% to .42%, depending
on your vehicle of choice–this cautious bull honestly wants to know what the
rush down the mountain is all about, doesn’t anybody like to climb anymore?
I’ll admit it, I thought that we’d end up on the session, especially after
seeing CNBC’s topic du jour last night, the ‘Market Malaise.’ The gap up as
anticipated did magically occur, but in this corner of the daytrading universe
the real opportunity came later on in the session as further testing in the
likes of the semiconductors produced a solid extended 5-minute chart double
bottom. Unfortunately, many other high-probability bread-and-butter trades seemed
to fall victim to more of the noisy volatility spoken of in yesterday’s column–essentially
ending today as more of a push than anything else. Oh well, I still wouldn’t
have it any other way–’cause when push comes to shove, I’d still rather do
it with consistent, disciplined daytrading tactics.
Volatility Readings:
| Volatility Index | Close | Net Change | Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average | Significance |
| VXO ( $VXO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
20.45 | down .98 | cvr 2 buy | 3% above | not at extreme |
| VXN ( $VXN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
26.84 | down .31 | na | 2% above | not at extreme |
Hottest Sectors : Gold/Silver (XAU)
Weakest Sectors : Biotech
(
BBH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
Wednesday’s stocks to watch:
Technical Strength.
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 |
| Children’s Place | ( PLCE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
31.95 | Top of range close on high handle b/o, on increased, above-average volume |
331 | 776 |
| Encore Wire | ( WIRE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
33.88 | Increased, above average top of range close within daily chart trading range |
140 | 275 |
Technical Weakness.
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 |
| Silicon Labs | ( SLAB | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
49.50 | Low of day close on increased, above average trade | 1,503 | 2,036 |
| Teva Pharmaceuticals | ( TEVA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
61.24 | Bottom of range consolidation on recross of 89-Day EMA | 2,712 | 2,166 |
| NII Holdings | ( NIHD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
32 | Bottom of range close on break below both 50-Day MAs | 360 | 623 |
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 |
| Paychex | ( PAYX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
33.94 | 2,836 | 2,995 |
| Sina | ( SINA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
36.89 | 5,032 | 4,274 |
Institutional Laggards.
| Name | Symbol | Price | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| Qualcomm | ( QCOM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
61.59 | 9,100 | 11,270 |
| Amgen | ( AMGN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
57.83 | 8,426 | 19,048 |
| Agilent | ( A | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
28.90 | 3,512 | 4,725 |
Best of luck to everyone. Please use protective stops on all trades.
Chris Tyler