Good evening StockBandits!
Today’s session was just about what you might expect on a holiday-shortened trading week, as the intraday action lacked momentum in either direction and led to mixed results. The indexes finished little-changed, although the NAZ, RUT and S&P 500 each posted new closing highs outside of their recent ranges.
Although today’s advances resulted in technical breakouts for those indexes, the way it happened isn’t technically ideal due to the reduced volume and lack of significant follow through beyond those zones. Nonetheless, today produced breakouts and the uptrends are still very much intact, so there’s no need to argue with the price action at this point. It’s simply a good time to stay cautious and on our toes due to the minimal conviction on the breakout, as well as the holiday volume which is likely to taper off and the year-end cross-currents I’ve been discussing throughout December.
In last night’s Broadcast, I noted that with this being a holiday week, it’s likely to be a good time to book quick profits when they appear and otherwise to stay selective. That continues to hold true as this week progresses, so my aim for Tuesday is much the same. There are setups which hold some appeal for short-term moves, but I’ll be keeping my risk limited and am willing to ring the register into favorable moves due to the expected light volume. If volume is the fuel that propels stocks higher, and there’s likely to be less of it, it’s sensible to either expect smaller moves or to trail stops aggressively on favorable trades.
When the price action is drifty like we saw today, it’s incredibly easy to force trades and spin your wheels trying to make something happen. Don’t fall victim to that approach this week, and instead show up with a few setups you like and take them as they come. If you don’t see what you love, have the patience to sit on your hands and exercise some discipline. Keep a book close by or tend to some other things until those alerts go off.
For tonight, my notes are on the charts below for index levels and potential trades I’m eyeing for Tuesday.
Please leave your comments and/or questions below if you have any, I always enjoy the interaction.
Swing Trading Candidates:
NONE TONIGHT.
Day Trading Candidates:
These are the trades I’m eyeing for potential plays tomorrow. I will not be holding these overnight, and will wait for these levels to be crossed before entering trades.
Bullish Watch:
APA, ISIL, MIPS, SNDK, OAS, MCP, MEE, SODA, SM, FCS, ONXX, WFC, BTU, OMC, JRCC, CPX, TEN, GE, WDR, ACI, ANR, SLV, SLXP, UYG, KKR, CAM, CPWM
Bearish Watch:
NTES, CSTR, MCO, CTRP, DRIV
The Hit List contains stop and target levels for my swing trades.
