Good evening StockBandits!
Last week the indexes posted mixed results as the NAZ led the way with a minor gain, while the DJIA brought up the rear with a loss of just over 1%. All in all, we went nowhere, and it brought about some choppy trading sessions. There were still some opportunities, as noted in the recap video, but on a swing (or multi-day) basis I stayed selective and let the market churn for a few days.
This is a healthy rest phase, even if it means less short-term momentum, because it’s allowing the market to catch its breath from its recent 2-week run since the early-March pullback. The buyers are still out in force, as last week we saw a few attempts at declines each met with supportive bids beneath the market. The bears have had virtually no success, so they’re still quick to cover on weakness and the bulls are still aggressively stepping in to put cash to work even on minor dips.
I was very encouraged this weekend to see many more setups building in the charts of individual stocks. There are a ton of bull flags and pennants in the works, so if/when we see strength return to the tape, it should provide a number of good opportunities. I’m expecting to be setting up more swing trades in the days ahead, particularly if the indexes remain stable.
The key here is to stay patient until the market resumes its trend, as it’s harder to capture gains without market sympathy. The swing trades I’ll be setting up are of course of the if/then variety, so they will naturally require some strength before triggering buys for me anyway. However, that should increase my long-sided exposure if traders greet this rest phase with more buying in the days ahead.
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!
Video Stocks Discussed: C, JPM, STT, VAR, CMA, CHMT, HUN, FCX, INVN, PAY, JAH, AXP, TCK, FBHS
Swing Trading Candidates:
FBHS has been able to rest for a couple of weeks without giving up much ground, giving it a very bullish appearance here with the overall uptrend still quite healthy. I’m watching this one for a trend line break at $21.45 to get long as the next leg up begins. As with all swing trades, my stop and target levels for this stock are on the Hit List here inside the Hideout.
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The Hit List is a separate post which contains discussion on open positions and swing trade stops and targets, so be sure to check it for further details on swing trades.
