Wednesday’s Stock Watch
The markets sold off on
below-average volume today, as the NYSE and Nasdaq put in distribution days. Nice gains were made in gold
and silver, while oil, chemicals, and banks made only slight advances. Heavy losses were recorded in
semiconductors, healthcare, Internet, and biotechnology. New 52-week highs and
lows both came in at low numbers.
At present, this report has several stocks cocked to
shoot out of cup-and-handle patterns. Concurrently the major averages are
flirting with the all-important 50-day moving averages, as the Dow and S&P 500
remain above this mark, the Nasdaq today closed below it. For the past three
weeks, the NYSE and Nasdaq have both made two accumulation days and two
distribution days.
From Tuesday’s action:
Market breadth was negative, with NYSE
declining issues over advancing issues by a ratio of 2.19, and down volume over
up volume by a 1.48 ratio. Nasdaq declining issues over advancing issues came in
at 3.16, and down volume beat up volume by a 2.11 ratio.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
(
$INDU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed down 1.06% at 8824.41. The S&P 500
(
$SPX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
closed down 1.38% at 934.83 at.
The Nasdaq
(
$COMPQ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed down 3.15% at 1347.83.
1,223
1,073
Declining Issues
1,851
2,271
346,169,000
338,605,000
824,146,000
1,149,552,000
Total
Volume
1,182,753,000
1,497,983,000
Highs
5
3
3
5
Top sectors:
Gold and
Silver Index
(
$XAU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up
3.03% at 67.48, and the
Oil Index
(
$OIX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), up 0.54% at 292.68.
Losing sectors:
Semiconductor Index
(
$SOX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating),
down 5.91% at 316.87.
Morgan Stanley Healthcare Provider Index
(
$RXH.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down
5.25% at 318.97.
Sectors with Most New 52-Week Highs (10 or more):
None
Watch List Action:
Our recent breakout, Apollo Group
(
APOL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating), down 4.34% on above-average
volume, was hit with a distribution day. The stock has been unable to
sustain its gains, and has retraced to its base. With two distributions days in
the last week, the future isn’t looking so bright here. We’ll see how well it
behaves near its pivot buy point here.
From our “handles” list, Coach Inc.
(
COH |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) fell 1.44% on above-average volume
for a distribution day. The stock’s handle is looking decent as it slopes down
gently, knocking out the weak holders, though today’s heavy selling is a sign of
weakness. On a positive note, the stock held up well against its fellow retail
stocks downgraded by Merrill Lynch today.
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) | 93 | 38.73 | – 1.76 | 2,458,800 | 39.60 | 43.27 |
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 |
Corinthian Colleges | ( COCO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) | 96 | 32.02 | – 0.28 | 791,100 | 34.69 |
Coach Inc. | ( COH | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) | 92 | 26.52 | – 0.39 | 982,500 | 28.35 |
International Game Technology | ( IGT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) | 78 | 65.30 | + 0.15 | 997,100 | 66.70 |
Kohl’s Corporation | ( KSS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) | 75 | 69.27 | – 2.12 | 2,497,500 | 73.75 |
Mid Atlantic Medical Services | ( MME | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) | 95 | 35.79 | – 1.08 | 705,500 | 37.87 |
Penn National Gaming | ( PENN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) | 95 | 18.90 | + 0.09 | 336,800 | 20.12 |
Alliant Techsystems | ( ATK | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) | 81 | 67.00 | + 1.70 | 516,400 | 69.95 |
NVR Inc. | ( NVR | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) | 95 | 313.00 | – 14.75 | 137,700 | 324.60 |
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 |
Hovnanian Enterprises | ( HOV | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) | 98 | 32.60 | + 0.15 | 473,000 |
Wellpoint Health Network | ( WLP | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) | 89 | 75.89 | – 0.35 | 1,907,400 |
href=”mailto:danielb@tradingmarkets.com”>danielb@tradingmarkets.com
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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).