Wednesday’s Stock Watch



The major indexes have been
behaving very shakily of late,

as the NYSE has now made four days of
distribution in the past week, while the Nasdaq has made three. New 52-week lows
are still dominant over the highs, and this report has had to remove two
stocks from the “recent breakout” list. These are not conditions to buy into.
The market may very well pull back from recent highs, and in the process we
would like to see volume drop off for an indication of selling pressure dying
out.



From Tuesday’s action:




Market breadth was negative
, with NYSE
declining issues over advancing issues by a ratio of 1.30, and down volume over
up volume by a 2.29 ratio. Nasdaq declining issues over advancing issues came in
at 1.21, and down volume beat up volume by a 3.22 ratio.





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

closed
+0.01%
at 8,368.94. The S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

closed
-0.90% at
882.15.
The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
closed

-1.15% at
1,300.62.







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

































NYSE size=2>NASDAQ
Advancing Issues
1,285

1,450


Declining Issues

1,750

1,761
Advancing Volume
363,560,000

378,750,000
Declining Volume

999,870,000

1,183,804,000


Total
Volume

1,372,003,000

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

3

10
New 52-week Lows
17

6

Top sectors:

Health Services and Medical Appliances & Equipment.



Watch List Action:



Hitting a new 52-week high Monday, International Gaming Technology
(
IGT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
has
been one of our strongest performers since breaking out. The stock has made
three days of distribution and three days of accumulation over the past three
weeks.









Now coming off our recent breakout list, Mid Atlantic Medical Services

(
MME |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
fell over
8% below its pivot buy point. The stock had a short run on our list, and
began showing weakness with distribution days just after breaking out.







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)

91

41.86

+0.74

2,530,000

39.60

46.15

Brown & Brown


(
BRO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

74

29.79

-1.71

235,500

32.16

37.00

Coach Inc.


(
COH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

96

30.67

-0.03

995,700

29.80

33.09

Education Mgt. Co.


(
EDMC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

80

41.51

+0.61

379,100

41.87

46.65

Hovnanian Enterprises


(
HOV |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

98

37.25

+0.97

798,700

32.90

40.56

International Game Technology


(
IGT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

93

75.47

+0.45

1,022,800

75.47

76.41

Mid Atlantic Medical Services


(
MME |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

96

37.50

-0.45

537,500

38.83

43.20

Wellpoint Health Network


(
WLP |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

91

78.31

-1.04

1,431,500

79.05

85.63

Also coming off the list is BRO as it traded over 8%
below its pivot
point.


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)

75

44.38

-0.62

715,300

47.80

Ross Stores Inc.


(
ROST |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

89

43.10

-0.50

1,058,700

43.10

CBH is not the prettiest of handles, but it’s all
we have now.


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

Chicos FAS


(
CHS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)

95

19.30

-0.50

1,289,300

21.19

We’d like to see CHS and ROST give us a handle in
here, as pegging an ideal breakout point has been warped by recent breakouts to
new highs without volume.


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


If you are new to the “IT” strategy, be sure to
take a look at our

intermediate-term online trading course
.


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).