Will Merrill Launch?
While the Nasdaq took another breather Thursday, there were some solid
performances in the blue chips among cyclicals and broker/dealers. As a trader
you have to keep your eyes open for where new leadership is emerging, and until
tech irons out its problems, there are always interesting setups in other sectors
that you should be tracking The broker/dealers were strong Thursday, although
they did fade toward the close, and in that group Merrill Lynch looked
interesting.
Merrill tested its March lows in early April and has been bounding back up,
thanks in part to the Fed rate cut. It retook its 50-day moving average, paused,
and then rocketed back above its 200-day on more than double average volume.
After a four-day pullback, Merrill resumed its upward trend, although it did
have trouble at the 200-day on Thursday.
 
I’ll be watching to see if Merrill can move back above its
200-day and then possibly take out last week’s highs on heavy volume. If tech
won’t lead, then maybe they market will find new leadership among some of the
old-guard leaders like global financial giant Merrill Lynch.
Until Friday,