Wednesday’s Stock Watch

  • April 1, 2003
  • TradingMarkets Editors


The three major averages
have lost ground in the beginning of the week, and are trading around
the support of their 50-day simple moving averages. On Monday both the NYSE and
Nasdaq exchanges posted distribution. On a positive note, a disappointing ISM
Index was ignored for Tuesday’s session as price action rallied and closed at
the top of its daily range.



As the war presses on in Iraq the markets remain
vulnerable to related news. Price action rallied after Saddam Hussein was a “no
show” for a scheduled news appearance Tuesday, on speculation that he may not
even be alive. The big test for our armed forces and the markets may come down
to Baghdad. Though war is a difficult thing to predict, prolonged urban warfare
may be a real test for our markets.



Stocks on our watch list remain in good shape. We
have added a new selection to the “handles” list, and are seeing a lot of bases
coming together. The only trouble is we’re not finding stocks that meet our top
fundamental criteria. If this market is for real, finding new candidates should
not be a problem.



From Tuesday’s action:



Market breadth was positive, with NYSE advancing issues over declining
issues by a ratio of 2.20, and up volume over down volume by a 2.44 ratio. Nasdaq advancing issues over declining issues came
in at 1.44, and up volume beat down volume by a 1.31 ratio.




Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
closed +0.97%
at 8069.86. The S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed
+1.21%
at 858.48.
The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed
+0.53%
at 1,348.29.







cellPadding=0 width=”70%” border=1 height=”185″>

































  NYSE size=2>NASDAQ
Advancing Issues
2,092
1,809

Declining  Issues
987
1,283
Advancing Volume
981,733,000
758,624,000

Declining Volume

423,130,000
624,409,000

Total
Volume

1,414,555,000
1,398,143,000
New 52-week
Highs
34
11
New 52-week Lows
7
10

Strongest Sectors:

Telecom (fiber optics), Internet (e-commerce), Computer (data storage), Media
(satellite/cable), Semiconductors, Medical (generic drugs).

Watch List Action:


New to our “handles” list is Corinthian Colleges
(
COCO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating). The stock made an
all time high on 3/26, and has been pulling back with lower highs ever since.
The stock is trading above all its major simple moving averages (20, 50, and
200), and has a new pivot buy point of 42.04. The company is in the post
secondary education business and meets all our top fundamental requirements. 





Also in the post secondary education biz and on our “handles” list Career
Education Company
(
CECO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) put in an accumulation day Tuesday. We are setting
a new pivot buy on this one at 51.65.





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)
89
51.32
+1.42
1,696,200
46.89
52.50

Coach Inc.

(
COH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
93
37.81
-0.52
1,154,900
28.35
39.99

Expeditors International of Washington

(
EXPD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
85
35.55
-0.40
768,400
34.54
38.00

Garmin Ltd.

(
GRMN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
95
35.45
-0.35
468,100
23.46
37.20

International Game Technology

(
IGT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
90
80.35
-1.55
1,307,900
74.84
87.20

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

CECO

(
CECO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
84
50.60
+1.68
770,200
51.65

Corinthian Colleges

(
COCO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
86
40.59
+1.09
1,064,600
42.04

UCBH Holdings

(
UCBH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
80
45.07
+1.09
157,700
45.20

UCBH has crossed through its pivot buy point,
though has not produced the volume to trigger a buy.


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
 
 
 
 
 
 

Daniel Beighley


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).