Wednesday’s Stock Watch
The broader
markets finished
the last day of trading for the year with losses.
Volume was light,
with many traders away from the action. Speculation of “window dressing” and tax-related selling continued to run rampant on Wall Street, as the stocks on our
watch list experienced some selling with a few distribution days.
Market breadth was negative, with
NYSE advancing issues over declining issues by a ratio of 1.03, and down volume
over up volume by a 1.90 ratio. Nasdaq advancing issues over declining
issues came in at 1.05, and up volume beat down volume by over a 2 to 1 margin.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed down
1.14% to
10,021.64. The S&P 500
(
$SPX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
closed down
0.94% to
1,150.14.
The Nasdaq [$COMPQ |$COMPQ] closed down
1.83% to
1,951.07.
| NYSE | NASDAQ | |
| Advancing Issues | 1,618 |
1,941 |
| Declining Issues | 1,559 |
1,853 |
| Advancing Volume |
318,529,000 |
441,546,000 |
| Declining Volume |
607,363,000 |
926,578,000 |
| Total Volume | 944,225,000 |
1,391,538,000 |
| New 52-week Highs | 17 | 19 |
| New 52-week Lows | 0 | 1 |
Top sectors:
Airline Index
(
$XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) up 5.22% at 87.99
Morgan Stanley Healthcare Provider
(
$RXH.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up
0.60% at 350.52.
Losing sectors:
Biotechnology
Index
(
$BTK.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) down 3.58% at 580.71.
Semiconductor Index
(
$SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) down
3.13% to 521.91.
Sectors With New Highs:
Banks – 3
Business Services – 6
Gaming – 4
Internet – 4
Medical – 4
REITs – 3
Residential Construction – 5
Restaurants – 3
Watch List Action
Krispy Kreme
(
KKD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), fell 3.38% on average volume. The stock has put in a
short-term toping formation, though this is irrelevant from the IT perspective.
In order to maintain its position as a recent breakout, it needs to hold within
7% of the breakout level before recommended stop losses are hit. We wish it luck
into the new year.
Panera Bread
(
PNRA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) made a new 52-week high, though lost 3.35% on twice
its average volume for a distribution day. This does not bode well for the
short-term, though the stock has gained 12% since its early November breakout.
Recent Breakouts
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.
American Healthways Inc
(
AMHC |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 1.72% on low volume.
Copart Inc.
(
CPRT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 2.12% on
average volume.
Ebay
(
EBAY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 1.60% on half its average
volume.
Genesis Microchip
(
GNSS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 1.46% on
average volume for a distribution day.
MTR Gaming Group
(
MNTG |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 0.49% on
average
volume.
Nvidia Corp.
(
NVDA |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 1.19% on below-average volume.
PEC Solutions
(
PECS |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 0.29% on half its average volume.
THQ Inc.
(
THQI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 2.84% on average volume for
its third distribution day in a row.
Company Name |
Symbol |
12 Month RS |
Price |
Price Change |
Average Volume |
| American Healthways Inc. | ( AMHC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
97 | 31.90 | – 0.60 | 305,300 |
| Copart Inc. | ( CPRT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
90 | 36.37 | – 0.79 | 690,400 |
| Ebay | ( EBAY | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
91 | 66.90 | – 1.09 | 7,628,600 |
| Genesis Microchip | ( GNSS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
99 | 66.13 | – 0.97 | 2,597,800 |
| Krispy Kreme Doughnuts | ( KKD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
94 | 44.20 | – 1.55 | 905,200 |
| MTR Gaming Group | ( MNTG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
97 | 16.00 | – 0.08 | 482,200 |
| Nvidia Corp. | ( NVDA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
98 | 66.90 | – 0.81 | 9,443,600 |
| Panera Bread Co. | ( PNRA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
95 | 52.04 | – 1.81 | 277,600 |
| PEC Solutions | ( PECS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
99 | 37.61 | + 0.11 | 626,300 |
| THQ Inc. | ( THQI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
83 | 48.47 | – 1.42 | 1,575,300 |
Stocks Forming a Handle
Career Education Corp.
(
CECO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 1.99% on
half its average volume.
Direct Focus Inc.
(
DFXI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), unch on
average volume.
Integra Lifesciences
(
IART |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) down 0.41% on low
volume for a distribution day.
Company Name |
Symbol |
12 Month RS |
Price |
Price Change |
Average Volume |
| Career Education Corp. | ( CECO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
84 | 34.28 | – 0.69 | 613,700 |
| Direct Focus Inc. | ( DFXI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
92 | 31.21 | + 0.01 | 667,300 |
| Integra Lifesciences | ( IART | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) |
86 | 26.34 | – 0.11 | 300,500 |
Stocks Building A Base
Company Name |
Symbol |
12 Month RS |
Price |
Price Change |
Average Volume |
| None |