Wednesday’s Top Stocks
Just say ‘moo’, or should that be ‘boo?’ Well, for the bulls out there, some
judicious profit-taking might be in order, as the magical 10,000 benchmark was
tested in today’s trade. Unfortunately, the Dow’s action consisting of just
30 issues, has a lot less to do with the broader indices such as the S&P
500, and the growth-heavy Nasdaq Composite–so, while CNBC can pull out the
party horns for the occasion, the majority of the market has been spelling out
a cautionary tale, if you bother to look at the rest of the tape. For the session,
our ETF friends finished down between .45% to a whopping 2.38% for the tech
and growth-stock-heavy Naz. Volume on all the cash indices was heavier and above-average,
as Mr. Bill and other institutional friends were busy with further portfolio
adjustments in the market’s still ‘confirmed’ but rather suspicious-looking
rally to fresh highs.
Oh, I can just see some bulls getting their horns in a tizzy–but I suspect
that those who err on the side of caution are doing just fine, and ultimately
appreciate the ebbs as well as the flows within the market’s ‘confirmed rally.’
Personally, I prefer being kind to the bovine, and I do see things more clearly
from the long side. But, as an advocate of believing in the tea leaves and nothing
else, the horns have been lowered as ‘cautious bull’ deems it totally appropriate.
Although it is a fact that ‘some’ of the markets did get to shine for the TV
ratings today, there have been some real nasty cases of profit-taking, as well
as loss of sector leadership going on as of late. Coupled with the historically
low volatility levels, flyers and plungers (and more of the latter) becoming
increasingly prevalent, and adoring mail that just ‘mooves’ me so, and it’s
all I need to ‘steer clear’ for a while. Of course, we’re lucky though–because
bull, bear, or something in-between, we always have our consistent, disciplined
daytrading to fall back on while the market continues to do its zig and zag
thing, each and every day.
Volatility Readings:
| Volatility Index | Close | Net Change | Signals/Direction | % Above/Below 10 Day Moving Average | Significance |
| VXO[CBOT:$VXO] | 17.08 | up .77 | none | 3% above | not at extreme |
| VXN[CBOT:$VXN] | 28.32 | up .77 | none | 5% above | not at extreme |
Hottest Sectors :NA
Weakest Sectors :Â Semiconductors
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PowerRating) and Internet
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Wednesday’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 |
| Navigant Consulting | ( NCI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
17.50 | Wide range bar higher within weekly established base, on increased above-average volume and followthru off double doji |
NA | 326 |
| Embarcadero | ( EMBT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
14.42 | Above average increased volume, on daily reversal bar off technical supports |
NA | 574 |
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 |
| Leapfrog | ( LF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
25.20 | Low of day closing price on heavy, above average trade, breaking price supports |
NA | 4,222 |
| Documentum | ( DCTM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
26.67 | Bottom of range close on technical b/d of MA and price supports on relative volume increase |
NA | 987 |
| Mercury Interactive | ( MERQ | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
45.67 | Engulfing bearish bar on technical reversal in direction of trend, with confirmed above-average volume |
NA | 3,286 |
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 |
| American International | ( AIG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
59.91 | NA | 6,892 |
| Honeywell | ( HON | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
30.48 | NA | 3,466 |
| Eli Lilly | ( LLY | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
70.55 | NA | 3,409 |
Institutional Laggards.
| Name | Symbol | Price | Average Volume 000’s | Today’s Volume |
| PMC Sierra | ( PMCS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
17.66 | NA | 5,877 |
| Corning | ( GLW | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
9.89 | NA | 14,550 |
| National Semiconductor | ( NSM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
38.70 | NA | 4,974 |
Best of luck to everyone. Please use protective stops on all trades.
Chris Tyler