Good evening StockBandits!

If this market is anything, it’s streaky.  We saw that 2 weeks ago with nonstop selling, then last week with nonstop buying, and it’s carried over into this week with another 2 sessions of strength.  Today’s gains were impressive, especially considering the overbought conditions this market is facing in the very short term.  Nonetheless, the shorts are still covering and the buyers are still wading back in.

Tonight’s earnings report from INTC has thus far been greeted with more optimism, and that may very well produce another gap to the upside tomorrow morning.  As a trader, I always respect momentum when it’s present (regardless of direction), and yet I know when moves get stretched, exhaustion gaps can prompt reversals.  So with this bounce getting rather long in the tooth without much rest at all, I’m going to be on my toes tomorrow morning to see how the morning gap gets treated.  We could see a gap fill reversal kick in, so keep a level head among the hype out there that this market is suddenly generating.

This is a very tricky spot to be adding new buys for anything but very short-term trades, and yet it’s also tough to short into this strength before it finally shows signs of fatigue.  For that reason, my list for Wednesday is a limited one, and so I’ll be focused fewer stocks tomorrow and looking to capitalize on whatever moves come our way.

I’ll cover my game plan for tomorrow in the video, and as always, feel free to share your own thoughts, trade ideas, and questions down below in the comments section.

Here is tonight’s video:

The Bandit Broadcast Video – Click to Watch!

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Video Stocks Discussed: ROVI, RGLD, RS, RTP, SLW

Swing Trading Candidates:

SLW failed at resistance a few weeks ago and has since turned sharply lower.  The bounce of the past week has not been impressive, and has created a clean rising wedge pattern.  I’m watching for a breakdown at $19.10 to confirm this pattern and get short the stock.  My stop and target levels will be on the Hit List post here inside the Hideout.

Chart courtesy of StockFinder

Bullish Watch:

NTES, PPO, ROVI, AAP, VQ, ENTR

Bearish Watch:

RGLD, CRK, RS, MTL, SLW, RTP

The Hit List will be coming out soon with discussion on open positions and swing trade stops and targets, so be sure to watch for it.

Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff

Good evening StockBandits!

Stocks held their ground quite well today, as traders returned from the weekend with plenty of reasons to raise cash.  With earnings season starting this week, options expiration, and one heck of a short-term bounce, who could have faulted the bulls for raising some cash out of caution today?

Instead, a quiet day of rest was put in as the market digested last week’s move by simply stagnating.  And although that sort of price action makes for tougher trading due to the lack of movement, it’s very healthy to see a pause rather than an outright reversal – at least not yet anyway.

Today we saw the NAZ and S&P both rally up and stop just shy of the 2220 and 1082 short-term resistance levels I outlined last night, validating those levels.  I don’t expect them to pose major resistance, and a bit more rest for stocks here could in fact bring yet another wave of buying into the picture.  For now, we’ll continue to monitor those zones while we wait to see if the buyers intend to reassert themselves sooner rather than later.

I’ll cover my game plan for tomorrow in the video, and as always, feel free to share your own thoughts, trade ideas, and questions down below in the comments section.

Here is tonight’s video:

The Bandit Broadcast Video – Click to Watch!

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Video Stocks Discussed: CLB, NBL, THOR, RGLD, PRU, LVS, IR

Swing Trading Candidates:

IR has moved swiftly lower from its peak just a few weeks ago, and since then has been unable to bounce.  Instead, it has consolidated to create a very clean bear pennant pattern, so I’m watching for a breakdown to trigger a short sale for me at $33.45.  My stop and target levels will be posted on the Hit List here inside the Hideout.

Chart courtesy of StockFinder

Bullish Watch:

AAP, NTES, PPO, DPS, APKT, THOR, CLB, NBL, LCAPA

Bearish Watch:

AGP, BYI, MHK, FRO, RGLD, PRU, AMED, CRK, IR, URBN, LVS, BBBY, JEC, RS, CLR, WAT, ANV, WMS, WLT, XCO, SKX

The Hit List will be coming out soon with discussion on open positions and swing trade stops and targets, so be sure to watch for it.

Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff

Good evening StockBandits!

Two weeks ago, the market went down every day as new correction lows were reached.  Last week, however, the market climbed every day, and the arrival of the much-anticipated relief rally finally allowed the bulls to breathe a sigh of relief.  What was lost in the previous 5 sessions was reclaimed in 4, and the tug-of-war continues.

The big question here is whether a low has been put in or not.  Some will be quick to declare it has or hasn’t, but the fact is that nobody knows yet.  Only with the creation of a higher low will we know the market has a shot at changing directions for a lasting period of time.  As a result, the next pullback could carry considerable importance if it stops shy of the July 1st low.  We’ll need to watch the character of the next dip and see if the buyers step in to offer support before really committing to the long side.

Last week’s bounce did come on light volume, and that’s usually technically questionable to see rallies come on lighter volume than the selloffs which preceded them.  Realistically, however, it was a holiday-shortened trading week right in the middle of summer, and the volume was in fact heavier than it typically is for the July 4th week.  Nonetheless, that’s keeping things a bit murky right now and adding another piece to the puzzle as traders wait to see if this bounce can turn into something more than simply an oversold rally.

The reversal-prone nature of this market continues to keep traders of all timeframes on their toes, and that’s no different with me.  We’ve seen streaky moves in both directions, and they’ve all stopped suddenly and shifted the path of least resistance.  At some point that will change, but for now, it’s something we must keep in mind and trade with elevated caution.  I’ve stuck with shortened timeframes in recent days as a way to participate in some movement while protecting capital, and that’s entirely alright.  If this market is going to make a lasting turn, there will be plenty of opportunities to get on board without having to feel like we need to nail the lows.

In the week ahead, we have the start of earnings season (watch the calendars!), as well as options expiration on Friday, and that’s sure to keep things interesting.  I’ll cover my game plan for tomorrow in the video, and as always, feel free to share your own thoughts, trade ideas, and questions down below in the comments section.

Here is tonight’s video:

The Bandit Broadcast Video – Click to Watch!

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Video Stocks Discussed: CROX, TSLA, PRU, AMED, NTES, AGP, IVN

Swing Trading Candidates:

NTES has been building a potential rounded low for a couple of months, and has slowly been grinding back up toward resistance.  A move up through $34.20 could free this one up for a quick move higher, so I’ll be a buyer for a swing trade if that level is cleared.  My stop & target levels will be on the Hit List post.

Chart courtesy of StockFinder

AGP recently broke important support and has attempted to reclaim it with a bounce, but it’s been unable to.  A rising trend line has emerged in recent days, which if broken, would begin another leg lower in the stock.  I’ll be looking to short this one if that trend line is broken at $31.90.

Chart courtesy of StockFinder

IVN has built a rising wedge pattern, and these are generally resolved to the downside.  A break of the lower rising trend line at $13.70 will trigger a short sale for me, and I’ll be setting a pretty tight stop and conservative targets on the Hit List for this trade.

Chart courtesy of StockFinder

Bullish Watch:

NTES, PPO, AEL, DPS, IDT, RINO, BJ, THOR, CROX, TSLA

Bearish Watch:

BYI, AGP, PRU, AMED, CRK, IR, MYGN, IVN

The Hit List will be coming out soon with discussion on open positions and swing trade stops and targets, so be sure to watch for it.

Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff

Good evening StockBandits!

On the heels of a couple of advances, including Wednesday’s big rally, stocks opened higher once again today.  The highs were set early in the session though, as some mild profit-taking kicked in to erase the morning gains and take the indexes slightly negative.  Interestingly enough, the dip stayed shallow and the buyers emerged once again before the end of the day to push the market back into the green and right near its highs by the closing bell.

While today’s rally was respectable, what’s so notable is simply the fact that we’re seeing upside follow through.  So many were expecting just a fast but weak bounce before another decline, and that’s not what we’ve seen so far.  The indexes have rallied considerably from last week’s lows, and so far they aren’t done yet.  The shorts suddenly have been reminded of the need for respect of the upside, even though trends are still down.

The volume on this bounce has left something to be desired from a technical standpoint, yet realistically speaking, it’s actually not bad.  Recall that this is still a holiday-shortened trading week, in the middle of the summer, and there are quite a few players who aren’t at their screens this week.  That should keep things interesting next week, but first let’s get through Friday.

Speaking of Friday, my focus will again be on short-term plays in order to manage my risk effectively.  This remains a very difficult spot to be adding multi-day exposure (in either direction), so I’m content to go home in cash tonight and heading into the weekend.  There are some good setups with some short-term potential though, so I’ll cover those in tonight’s video.

Here is tonight’s video:

The Bandit Broadcast Video – Click to Watch!

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Video Stocks Discussed: PPO, ADSK, BYI, LULU, IDT, AGP, UFS

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

Bullish Watch:

PPO, AEL, DPS, IDT, LULU, BJ

Bearish Watch:

ADSK, IOC, BYI, AGP, F, RGLD, GPN, MLM, SOHU, AMED, HK, UFS

The Hit List will be coming out soon with discussion on open positions and swing trade stops and targets, so be sure to watch for it.

Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff

Good evening StockBandits!

The major averages rallied from start to finish today, jumping 3% in the process.  The rally attempt which essentially failed yesterday left many traders feeling flat-footed with today’s strength.  That apparently kept the buying pressure on, as it never relented and the indexes surged steadily higher to finish at their best levels by the closing bell.

So, the relief rally has started.  Some key levels were reclaimed today, but the coast still isn’t clear.  We will need to see this market show some follow through on the upside in the days to come, and that’s no small task if recent weeks are any indication.  Beyond that, the next dip we get will be important to gauge as well.  If it finds buyers, then perhaps a tradable low has been put in.  If the next dip merely intensifies by inviting more selling, then we’ll know this bounce is simply a quick rebound that can’t be trusted.  For now, the jury is still out, so let’s see what we get.

There are a ton of failed patterns in the charts tonight.  Paired with the nonstop selling and now this upside reversal, there are very few charts with tradable patterns heading into tomorrow.  Volume still isn’t impressing, and with gaps and reversals still common, my plan is to day trade on Thursday.  Once this market is able to settle down a little, I’ll certainly look to do more swing trading, but at the moment, the waters are far too choppy to venture into for more than a few hours at a time.

I’ll cover my game plan for tomorrow in tonight’s video, and as usual, if you have thoughts you would like to share or questions I might can answer, feel free to leave a comment down below.

Here is tonight’s video:

The Bandit Broadcast Video – Click to Watch!

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Video Stocks Discussed: BIDU, AMZN, IDT, VRX, BVF, IOC, MHK

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

Bullish Watch:

IDT, VAR, LULU, VRX, BVF

Bearish Watch:

ADBE, IOC, BYI, AGP, WLP, MHK

The Hit List will be coming out soon with discussion on open positions and swing trade stops and targets, so be sure to watch for it.

Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff