Monday’s Stock Watch


The major indexes posted
their fourth week in a row of gains,
as the NYSE made one day of
minor accumulation and three days of distribution (two of which were minor), and
the Nasdaq made three days of accumulation and one day of distribution. The
indexes have been trading in a tight range for the past two weeks, which may
very well be resolved Wednesday when the Fed announces whether or not they will
cut interest rates.



New 52-week highs have been holding a slight
advantage over the new 52-week lows, and  Mark Boucher‘s
Top
RS and ER List
has maintained its bullish bias over the

Bottom RS and ER List
.



We have removed three stocks form this report during
the past week, though have three candidates primed to breakout from the handles
list. This is still a shaky market, and not an ideal buying environment. The
search goes on for stocks meeting our top technical and fundamental criteria.



From Friday’s action:



Market breadth was positive, with NYSE
advancing issues over declining issues by a ratio of 2.55, and up volume over
down volume by a 2.96 ratio. Nasdaq advancing issues over declining issues came
in at 2.09, and up volume beat down volume by a 6.53 ratio.




Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

closed +1.43
%
at 8517.64. The S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

closed
+1.71% at
900.96.
The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
closed +2.32
% at
1,360.71.





 




cellPadding=0 width=”70%” border=1 height=”176″>

































  NYSE size=2>NASDAQ
Advancing Issues
2,199

2,206

Declining  Issues

853

1,046
Advancing Volume
1,034,454,000

1,628,714,000
Declining Volume

367,773,000

198,156,000

Total
Volume

1,411,484,000

1,576,517,000
New 52-week
Highs

14

17
New 52-week Lows
11

6

Top sectors:

Short-term: Internet, Telecoms, Broker/Dealers,
Computer Hardware.

Long-term: Gold, Defense, Consumer.

Watch List Action:


From our handles list, Chicos FAS
(
CHS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
is poised to break out of a five
month base. The stock made an accumulation day Friday. Ideally we’d like to see
the price action in the handle gradually slope down with the volume descending.
Heavy distribution on Tuesday is a red flag.





Also poised to break out of a five month base is Commerce Bancorp.
(
CBH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
.
The stock has formed a jerky handle, though volume has been declining. The stock
meets our top fundamental and technical criteria, and is a member of the strong
regional bank sector.





Recent Breakouts

size=2>

We monitor the action of Recent Breakouts as an indicator of
the market health for IT traders. When breakouts are acting well, this is a good
sign for the likelihood of further sustainable breakouts. When breakouts are
failing, IT traders should be even more cautious.




































































color=#ffffff size=2>Company Name color=#ffffff size=2>Symbol color=#ffffff size=2>12 Month RS color=#ffffff size=2>Price color=#ffffff size=2>Price Change color=#ffffff size=2>Average Volume
Pivot

52-Week High

Apollo Group


(
APOL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

92

42.22

-0.87

2,540,700

39.60

46.15

Coach Inc.


(
COH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

95

31.40

-0.47

991,100

29.80

33.09

Education Mgt. Co.


(
EDMC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

58

36.99

-5.39

447,100

41.87

46.65

Hovnanian Enterprises


(
HOV |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

98

38.28

+0.80

811,600

32.90

40.56

International Game Technology


(
IGT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

93

77.04

+1.85

1,027,800

75.47

77.22

Wellpoint Health Network


(
WLP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

85

76.15

-5.86

1,507,500

79.05

85.63

WLP traded to 7% below pivot, we’ll keep it on
the list as long as it stays above 8%.


EDMC is coming off as it dropped over 15% below
its pivot.


Stocks Forming a Handle




































color=#ffffff size=2>Company Name color=#ffffff size=2>Symbol color=#ffffff size=2>12 Month RS color=#ffffff size=2>Price color=#ffffff size=2>Price Change color=#ffffff size=2>Average Volume
Pivot

Commerce Bancorp.


(
CBH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

83

47.23

+1.56

720,600

47.80

Chicos FAS


(
CHS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

96

20.10

-0.31

1,286,900

21.19

Ross Stores Inc.


(
ROST |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

89

44.06

-0.75

1,074,600

45.59

Stocks Building A Base





















color=#ffffff size=2>Company Name

color=#ffffff size=2>Symbol

color=#ffffff size=2>12 Month RS

color=#ffffff size=2>Price

color=#ffffff size=2>Price Change

color=#ffffff size=2>Average Volume


Pivot

None

 

 

 

 

 

 

href=”mailto:danielb@tradingmarkets.com”>danielb@tradingmarkets.com


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take a look at our

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.


Intermediate-Term Traders

Report is posted on
Tuesdays and Fridays. For other intermediate-term commentary, be sure to read

Mark Boucher
(Fridays),

Tim Truebenbach
(Tuesdays and Thursdays), and

Gary Kaltbaum
(Mondays and Thursdays).