TheStockBandit.com

Good evening StockBandits!

Buyers stepped in again today to defend even a minor pullback this morning, taking the indexes into positive territory where they stayed for the afternoon.  The highs were made in the early afternoon, but the market didn’t give back much ground despite some late-day churning.

The indexes are still contending with some key areas, and considering they’re still somewhat extended, this would make for a logical spot to put in some rest.  The issue is that of late, logic hasn’t driven the moves, as traders have been gunning on emotion instead.  Regardless, the S&P 500 is respecting the 1341-1345 area, while the NAZ is sitting just shy of 2835 from the May 31 high.  Volume is still running light, which has been expected this week of July 4th.

My watch lists are still pretty sparse, although even a couple of days of rest would do wonders for creating some bull flag and pennant types of patterns.  In the meantime, I’m doing my best to stay patient and stick with the best setups from the charts each evening.  Today offered a couple of swing entries which I’m sitting in overnight, which is nice.  I’d like to see more setting up in the coming days to go along with the day trades we’ll no doubt see, but the key will be if this market is able to either pull back in a shallow fashion or simply sit still for a couple of days.  That may make for some low-key price action, but for a longer timeframe it could easily serve as the pause that refreshes.

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: GNK, CREE, JDSU, PCX

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

[table “79” not found /]

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.

Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff

Good evening StockBandits!

Finally we saw stocks take a breather today with minor net changes and mixed results.  That equates to a well-deserved day of rest for this market which has been running nonstop since 6/27.  Today’s action (or lack of it) was a welcomed sight for those of us eager to see stocks begin basing and digesting this big run.  Today may have been the start of that.

Generally speaking, the sharper a move is, the more prone to reversal it becomes.  However, it’s a little more tricky when we see one-way moves which carry as far and last as long as this one has.  When that’s the case, it has a different effect than the usual 1-2 day spikes which often are met with an abrupt pullback.  In this kind of a situation, it catches so many off guard, that defense is the only response.  That means shorts who got caught on the wrong side of this move are quick to cover in hopes of repositioning at another level, and underinvested bulls feel the need to play catch up by putting cash to work on virtually any dip.

Whether we see that play out this time around remains to be seen, but my gut tells me this has potential to be that way.  Stated otherwise, I’m expecting some rest and a pullback, but not a quick return to the June lows anytime soon.  Instead, I’m interested in seeking out some upside continuation plays and will only short stocks which have proven to be weak despite this impressive rally.

Lately I’ve been patiently waiting for individual stocks to set up for good multi-day moves, and particularly those with some defined risk associated with the pattern.  Although the market has made a big run higher, few stocks have met that criteria.  We’ve also been in a highly volatile environment with many wide-ranging days and more frequent overnight gaps.  That has added to the difficulty of not only locating such plays (as it has led to very sloppy charts), but it also makes managing risk effectively much less possible.

Tonight, there are several setups which are working on quality patterns, including some long-awaited swing trading candidates.  I love to have capital at work across multiple timeframes, but the erratic nature of the market of late has simply prevented me from taking overnights.  With the dust starting to settle, and with plays which look appropriate, I’m willing to take swings once again in addition to the cash-flow types of day trades I’ve been focused on (speaking of, did you grab TSCO from last night’s Broadcast?…it was a day-maker).

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: VRX, TITN, PANL, JDSU, WDC, CREE, SWKS, AEM, NOG

Swing Trading Candidates:

AEM sold off for several months before spending the early part of this summer attempting to stabilize.  Last week this stock may have created a higher low just after establishing a short-term higher high, making this an upside reversal candidate which could quickly gain interest.  I’ll be going long if this one clears the trend line at $63.65.  As with all swing trades, my stop and target levels for this stock are on the Hit List here inside the Hideout.

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

NOG corrected in a steady fashion until a couple of weeks ago when it established a higher low.  The stock then rallied past a short-term high to change its trend, and now sits in a bull pennant pattern with potential to run further.  I’ll be a buyer if this one clears the upper trend line at $22.50 on its way to higher levels.  As with all swing trades, my stop and target levels for this stock are on the Hit List here inside the Hideout.

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

[table “78” not found /]

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.

Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff

Happy July 4th StockBandits!

Fireworks arrived well ahead of schedule as last week the indexes vaulted higher in a nonstop fashion to reach new recovery highs off the June lows.  Multiple key levels of former support were reclaimed on the way back up despite quieter volume than we’ve had of late.  That was likely due to this being one of the two quietest volume weeks of the year (along with Thanksgiving), but it didn’t stop the buyers.  Upside gaps saw no attempt at getting filled, as profit-taking was delayed in favor of chasing momentum and shorts anxiously covering to get out of the way of a runaway advance.

The rebound accomplished quite a bit, both from a psychological and a technical perspective.  Psychologically, the bulls reasserted themselves to produce nearly a full recovery of the early-June slide, reminding the bears that they don’t intend to completely walk away at the first sign of a selloff.  Technically, levels which were expected to pose as resistance were entirely ignored as the buying never relented.  We left the low-level trading ranges of the previous 3 weeks, ,and then ripped right through important levels on the way back up. No matter what happens next, we’re virtually guaranteed to see some additional battles between bulls and bears in the months ahead.

The big question on everyone’s mind is “what happens next?”  One could easily make a case for overreactions in price in both directions over the past several weeks, and it’s hard to dispute that.  Methodical moves tend to last the longest, yet this market has shown nothing of that sort lately.  The most reversal-prone moves are the sharpest, and we’ve certainly seen that in recent days.  Just how far the next pullback carries remains to be seen, but we can bet that it’s coming after this straight-up run.

Individual stocks for the most part continue to exhibit sloppy charts.  That’s understandable considering we saw a waterfall-like selloff followed by a few weeks of volatile indecision, then a violent rally right back up.  Fortunately though, that’s a temporary condition and things will smooth out.  Quite a few stocks have recovered to an extent that they’re probably safe from complete breakdowns for at least a little while.

Should the major averages (and of course individual stocks) remain inside these multi-month very wide trading ranges (found between the March/June lows and the May highs), it’s going to continue to make this a trader’s market for a while.  Subsequently, working the charts on a regular basis and considering risk for every new trade is going to be critical until we exit the range.  That spells opportunity, so long as we stay on our toes and wait for quality setups to emerge.

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: TITN, YOKU, MOBI, TSCO, PLCM, WLK

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

[table “77” not found /]

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.

Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff

Good evening StockBandits!

Despite the run of the previous three sessions, the bulls didn’t back down at all today as they propelled the major averages to new recovery highs.  Each of the big three indexes added more than 1%, which is no small feat considering they were becoming a bit short-term stretched before today’s session even started.  Nonetheless, the buyers have momentum right now, and on a light-volume week ahead of a major holiday, nobody seems interested in getting in the way.

The issue here from not only a technical but also a psychological standpoint is simply finding entries.  Most names have seen considerable volatility in recent weeks, then have abruptly turned higher over the past few days and now are in no-man’s-land when it comes to tradable setups.  Toss into the mix that tomorrow’s a mid-summer Friday in front of a 3-day holiday weekend, and we could see some quiet activity as the market digests this move and traders step away to fire up the BBQ or hit the pool.

I’m looking at a few day trading candidates for tomorrow, which I’ll outline in the video.  There remains a distinct lack of setups for swing trades right now, so until we see things settle down and aren’t seeing daily triple-digit moves, the most appropriate way to manage risk is via shortened timeframes.

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: DE, MELI, P, CTSH, MTL

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

[table “76” not found /]

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.

Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff

Good evening StockBandits!

The bulls maintained respect today as well as their recent momentum as they stepped in to provide support this morning.  A positive start was met quickly with selling as the morning gap was filled and two of the three major indexes went negative.  The sell-the-news response to the events in Greece, combined with overbought conditions from a couple of trend days higher could easily have produced a sizeable reversal to the downside.  Instead, the bulls continued their run with another solid advance.

Volume remains light, but that’s to be expected around July 4th (this next Monday), as that’s usually one of the two lightest volume weeks of the year.  We could see continued quiet volume for Thursday and Friday as traders lock in gains ahead of the long weekend and step away to travel or simply hit the pool and the BBQ grill.  That means we’ll have to focus on price until at least next week, and possibly the second week of July.  Price is of course always most important, but my point is that we can place less importance on volume activity right now due to the seasonal influence of July 4th.

The market is a bit short-term stretched here, but the bulls have momentum and don’t seem intent on relinquishing control just yet.  After seeing important support held in June and then this rally, we may face some opportunities to buy dips once stocks take a breather.  Shorts have been hit on this advance and will be looking to cover, and underinvested bulls will be adding exposure in case we’ve just seen a low that’s able to stick.

Tonight in the video I’m going to take an extra few minutes to explain a couple of lessons tied to two of last night’s day trade candidates.  My hope is that you can learn something from it before we get to tomorrow’s plays, as the aim here is to help you grow and learn continually.

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: ZAGG, RBCN, AG, WNR, CTSH, JDSU

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

[table “75” not found /]

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.

Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff

Good evening StockBandits!

Today arrived with something unusual in tow:  follow through.  After Monday’s rally back up toward the upper ends of the recent trading ranges, the stage was set for either another failure at resistance or a push through, and the latter is what we got.  A positive start never saw profit-taking, and the market trended higher intraday to finish right at its best levels of the session.

From a technical standpoint, few would have been surprised to see some ground given back today after yesterday’s light-volume rally.  That hardly seemed the ideal scenario for a push back up and out of the trading range of the past few weeks, yet that’s exactly what happened.

It was positive for the indexes to reclaim some important short-term levels, but there’s still plenty of work yet to be done by the bulls.  We’ll need to see some follow through sooner or later, as well as some stronger volume to help confirm this move.  In the coming weeks, we’ll also need to see some sort of a higher low established on the daily charts of the indexes, as that will really help to create some interest on the long side.

The verdict is still out as to whether this is simply end-of-the-quarter window-dressing, or some actual buying and accumulation.  One thing is for sure…with the July 4th holiday just a few days away, we’re approaching typically the lightest-volume weeks of the year.  That doesn’t suggest we’ll see a big pick up in activity, so the jury may be out until once that milestone has been passed.  Price will have to be the focus until then.

The charts of individual stocks remain quite sloppy with all the recent back-and-forth, so my watch lists are still quite limited.  I’ll be focused on a handful of short-term plays for Wednesday’s session.

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: LAVA, ZAGG, SQNS, MOS, RBCN

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

[table “74” not found /]

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.

Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff

Good evening StockBandits!

Right on cue, the market followed a weak Friday with a strong Monday, continuing the back-and-forth range-bound price action we’ve seen so much of lately.  And it was another rather convincing rally from a price perspective, with the NAZ adding 1.3% on the day.  However, it’s again important to remember that we’re still beneath key levels (as discussed in tonight’s video), as well as the fact that today’s advance came on lackluster volume – particularly compared to Friday’s selling.

So, the trading ranges are still intact for now, and volatility continues to be elevated with the frequent gaps and wide-ranging days.  Tomorrow the bulls have a shot at reclaiming some important levels, but they’ll have to prove it if they want to propel this market out of this short-term range.  If they don’t, we could see yet another slide back toward the lower end of the range.

It’s a trader’s market right now, but really and truly just for day traders.  The limited follow through and frequent overnight gaps have prevented much opportunity from a multi-day swing trader’s perspective, which means cash continues to be a good thing to have on hand.  Eventually we’ll leave this range, but until then we should expect more of the same.  Stated otherwise, let’s require that the market prove it’s back on the move rather than chasing a rally or selloff and hoping that this time it’s going to see follow through.  At some point it will, but so far it’s been false-alarm city and that’s a good reminder to stay on our toes.  I’m sticking with day trades tomorrow for that very reason.

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: OPEN, ONTY, MCO, RBCN, CIEN, CREE

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

[table “73” not found /]

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.

Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff