Wednesday’s Stock Watch
The broader markets
pushed
to a strong close on the heels of another 50 basis point rate cut by the Fed
today. This makes the 10th cut of the year, and a 2% borrowing rate the banks
have not seen since 1961. Going into today, many believed the cut was already
factored into the market, and if this were the case the rally was another pure
vote of confidence. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have both cleared their
resistance levels, and the Dow is now parked right at its resistance.
The Dow closed up 1.26% to 9,441.03, the
S&P 500 closed up 1.43% to 1,102.71, and the Nasdaq closed up 2.74% to
1,793.65.
Overall volume on the Nasdaq was
slightly above average at
1,917,596,000. Up volume dominated down volume by over 3 to 1. Total advancing
issues were 2,084, and declining issues were 1,521. There were 27 new 52-week
highs, and 2 new 52-week lows. Considering that trading was mostly flat until
the 2 PM ET Fed announcement, the statistics show strength. The last five
trading sessions have seen very few new lows, and we have taken a decisive step
away from the gap up made yesterday. So far technology has been king in this
market, and with strong performances from traditional leaders Intel
(
INTC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
and Cisco
(
CSCO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), the markets may be firming.
Off the Stocks Building a Base
list, Pec Solutions
(
PECS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) fell out of bed to lose 9.17%:
Stocks Breaking
out on High Volume with a Relative Strength of 80 or Better:
Company Name |
Symbol |
Relative Strength |
Price |
Average Volume |
Today’s Volume |
| None |
Stocks Building
A Base With A Minimum Relative Strength of 80.
Company Name |
Symbol |
Relative Strength |
Price |
Average Volume |
Today’s Volume |
| Krispy Kreme Doughnuts |
( KKD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
95 | 35.95 | 723,800 | 350,500 |
Stocks forming a
Handle
Company Name |
Symbol |
Relative Strength |
Price |
Average Volume |
Today’s Volume |
| Taro Pharmaceutical |
( TARO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
98 | 43.17 | 722,100 | 177,100 |
| Independence Community Bank |
( ICBC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
91 | 24.67 | 603,000 | 194,200 |
The top sectors were:
Morgan Stanley Internet Idx
(
$MOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
gaining 5.69%
Semiconductor Sector Index
(
$SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
by 3.37%
Computer Technology Index
(
$XCI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) up 3.27%
Morg Stanley Technology Index
up 2.56%
North American Telecoms Index
(
$XTC.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
up 1.99%
Losing sectors were:
Airline Index
(
$XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
down 1.57%
Oil Index
(
$XOI.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) down
0.40%
Remember that all securities are
risky. In any trade, you should always reduce your risk by adjusting position
size and placing open protective stops where you will sell your long or
cover your short in case the market turns against you. For an introduction to
combining price stops with position sizing, see our lesson,
Risky
Business.