Good evening StockBandits!

This morning the futures were near the flat line as the opening bell rang, and it appeared that perhaps stocks would put in a day of rest after yesterday’s punishment.  That wasn’t to be the case though, as a minor bounce marked the highs of the day just 15 minutes later, before another wave of steady selling hit the tape.  The indexes bottomed out early in the afternoon and drifted a bit higher into the bell, but more technical damage was done and the pullback has deepened.

At this point, we are a bit short-term stretched to the downside, particularly considering the sudden shift of direction these past two days.  It’s important to remember though, that this is an emotion-based move and that means it could carry farther than what may seem probable.  Traders tend to sell first and ask questions later, and that’s what we’re getting right now.  We do have several levels of potential support on the way down (former resistance zones during the recent advance), but they may not be respected at all if the selling continues at this pace.

Eventually, we will see a bounce kick in.  My aim isn’t so much to catch that bounce (since being early would be costly), but rather to see how it gets greeted.  It’ll be particularly important for us to gauge how the next advance is treated.  Does it happen too quickly before fizzling out, in a short-covering kind of way?  Does it happen slowly and find follow through?  Or is it feeble and unable to gather traction?  Those questions will soon have answers, but for now this market is correcting and the sidelines are a great place to be – especially with such sizeable gap potential since all attention is on the Middle East.  Too much can happen right now while we sleep, so I’m a day trader heading into Thursday’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!

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Video Stocks Discussed: PXD, OAS, DVN, DLB

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

Bullish Watch:

DVN, XEC, MTW, TSO, NXY, PLD, GSM, PXD, BHI, WTI, OAS, ROSE, PTEN, IO, MAKO, MOBI

Bearish Watch:

DLB, CSCO, CSC

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!

Stocks gapped sharply lower this morning after the long weekend on concerns tied to the middle east turmoil.  The weakness initially found some buyers, which took the indexes well off their opening lows to fill about half the gap by mid-morning.  The recovery was short-lived, however, and the market slid lower for the remainder of the session.

We’ve been in a buy-all-dips environment for quite some time now, but the pullbacks have been much more shallow.  The only similar slide to what we saw today occurred on January 28th and was essentially erased over the following two sessions.  What makes a sharp selloff like today’s difficult to respond to is the fact that it was so relentless after the initial bounce attempt.  It’s hard to gauge whether the market is just quickly pricing in a poor outcome with Libya, or if we just changed character.

Rather than predict which it will be, it’s best at this point to respect the pullback and the possibility that the long-in-the-tooth rally has run its course for now.  That means greater caution until we see how this pullback is treated.  Fortunately, I had raised stops for my swing trades coming into today, and the damage was minimal.

Going forward, I’ll take good setups as they come along, but there’s no problem with holding cash for a short time here until some of the dust settles.  I don’t want to chase shorts here, nor do I want to catch the proverbial falling knife by attempting to get long on these steep, sudden drops – even in stocks which are still in uptrends.  Once the smoke clears a bit, the added volatility will give us some great opportunities, regardless of which direction this market goes.

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: AAPL, NVDA, SNDK, AMZN, AMAT, MTL, RCII, ANN, CSCO, CSC

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

Bullish Watch:

VXX, RCII, SFY, PWE, IO, ANN

Bearish Watch:

CSCO, NSC, APA, MGA, DRIV, BYI, COH, RDY, CNW, KOL, KMT, CSC

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 indexes chalked up more new highs last week, and again it was similar price action to what we’ve seen for some time now.  Recent short-term resistance was cleared, but not in runaway fashion.  Instead, stocks staged another modest rally with multiple days of gains, none of which were of the impressive variety.

Neither the news flow nor the technicals suggest a downside turn at this point, although one could still arrive without warning.  We’re not too extended in the short term, and there’s still a bit of room before the upside projections are reached (NAZ 2856, S&P 1370, RUT 846-856, and DJIA 12700-12800).  So the coast is clear for more upside, but it’s still quite impressive how this rally has persisted.  Every minor dip has been bought – either by bulls needing to chase performance, or by bears desperate to cover shorts on any pullback – and as a result, we’ve seen nearly a constant bid beneath stocks for many weeks now.

And despite the long-in-the-tooth nature of this rally right now, it’s still an uptrend and trends can persist many times for much longer than what may seem reasonable or possible.  In other words, it’s a good time to remind ourselves not to fight the tape, because the bulls have momentum and it will run its course – with or without us.  Fortunately, we’ve caught some nice trades on the long side lately.  There may be many more to come, or we may at some point see reason to become more cautious – the key is to stay attentive and keep an open mind to any development which comes along.

Tonight I’m going with the written format as I’ve been traveling with my family this weekend, but will return to the usual video format on Tuesday.  My notes and trade levels are provided on the charts below.

Please leave your comments and/or questions below if you have any, I always enjoy the interaction.

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

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.

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Bullish Watch: PNRA, UA, RL, JNPR, NCT, ROST, BCR, CROX, WWWW, TIF, BWA, BIG, DVN, ARBA, BG, XXIA, PLCM, PTEN, CHKP, CTXS, CLS, NWS, MXIM, RAX

Bearish Watch: FCX, TCK, JDSU, SLAB, TSRA, NAK

The Hit List will not be posted tonight as I am 100% cash overnight and there are no new swing trades for Tuesday. The Hit List typically contains stop and target levels for my swing trades.

Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff

Good evening StockBandits!

This morning we saw a bit of a weak start to the day, as the indexes gapped slightly lower.  The weakness didn’t last long though, and shortly after we had filled the gap.  From there we saw a steady intraday uptrend take the market positive before the final few hours of trading where the market simply held its gains.

Tonight we’re once again sitting at new 52-week highs, and once again it’s as a result of not a banner day but simply another modest advance.  The dips continue to get bought, but new highs still aren’t yet producing the blow-off, upside runaway price action which may eventually arrive.  Call it a slow uptrend if you will, but just don’t get caught short for very long.

Tomorrow we have options expiration ahead of a long holiday weekend, which could bring with it a little more lively price action.  Regardless of which way we head, it’s important to keep in mind that if things start to slow down in the afternoon not to force trades.  Many will be stepping away from their screens if the market stagnates ahead of the long weekend, so it will be easy to overtrade if there’s no real momentum present.  My focus will be on a handful of day trades, along with some tightened stops for my swings (so be sure to check the Hit List post for updates there).

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: WYNN, BMC, PNRA, RAX

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

Bullish Watch:

DIS, APC, FTK, AGU, BSFT, RCII, APKT, PAY, RVBD, KKR, OPEN, RAX, WYNN, CLR, MOS, RES, AA, TEX, IPI, SWK, LULU, SWKS, MOLX, ONNN, BMC, CTXS, CSX, PTEN, PNRA, WSM, EMN, ICE, ONXX, VECO, FTNT

Bearish Watch:

MCP, TCK, ALV, COH, CCL

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!

An upside gap was held today as morning strength was followed by additional buying.  The indexes peaked late in the morning, pulled back to test the opening lows, and then finished just a short distance from their highs as once again even an intraday dip was bought.

Today’s strength took each of the indexes to new multi-year highs, serving as yet another reminder that the trend is up.  We’re still headed toward the next resistance levels I’ve pointed out, and possibly beyond.

To predict where this market is going is just as pointless as predicting when we’ll roll over, and it’s important to note here (again) that it isn’t our job as traders to predict.  Trends can last much longer than many expect, so whenever we find ourselves in the midst of one – even if it seems a bit long in the tooth – it’s our job to trade it.

Right now that means taking clean setups, primarily on the long side, while still managing risk with stops and booking profits along the way.  As long as we’re doing that, we’ll be effective and able to participate in the trend.  And when technical evidence does surface to suggest we’re changing directions, we’ll recognize it if we’re paying close attention to the charts.

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: LULU, RVBD, OPEN, RAX, WYNN, PTEN, EBAY, RCII, CLR, EMN, TCK, COH

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

Bullish Watch:

DIS, FTK, RCII, LO, PAY, RVBD, OPEN, KKR, RAX, WYNN, CLR, NKE, VRUS, BAC, CELL, AA, SWK, LULU, AVL, MOLX, ONNN, HES, BMC, CXO, NG, CTXS, CSX, FSLR, PTEN, SFSF, EBAY, CVLT, WSM, EMN

Bearish Watch:

BVN, TCK, AMZN, ALV, COH, BAP

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 market took a very small step back today with a weak open which was followed by only a partial gap fill.  As a result, the indexes finished in the red, although not by much.

We’re still holding above the recent breakout areas and still not far from highs, which leaves the indexes in good shape to digest recent gains and possibly go for more soon.  That’s right along the lines of the stairstep-type of rally we’ve been in since December 1st, which has to leave the bulls feeling somewhat comfortable.

Overall, this market remains in good shape from a technical standpoint, and the bears are still on the run.  The dips have continued to be brief and shallow, which shows that buyers are still stepping in on even minor weakness.  As long as that remains the case, and particularly if this market can continue to base after it makes new highs, it could easily perpetuate this uptrend.

My intent is to continue trading the setups as they come along, without chasing strength.  If there’s one nuance about this rally, it’s that we aren’t seeing runaway strength.  So patience is a virtue especially now.

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: KKR, YOKU, ALV, COH, MOLX

Swing Trading Candidates:

MOLX has put in some rest since its last run higher, and this one may be gearing up for another move.  I’ll be a buyer if this one can clear the upper trend line of the bullish wedge at $27.70, and will use the lower trend line as a stop. As with all swing trades, my stop and target levels for this trade are found on the Hit List here inside the Hideout.

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Bullish Watch:

EBAY, NG, MOLX, ADSK, LBTYA, JCI, VSH, GTI, KKR, JAZZ, GDP, IPXL, YOKU, SWK, SM, HOG, CSX, JNPR, ALXN, SFSF, SBGI

Bearish Watch:

TCK, WHR, ALV, COH, TSRA

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 seemed to have other things on their minds today, although they managed to produce modest gains in the indexes (with the exception of a minor downtick in the DJIA).  The intraday action was somewhat subdued, although we did see a bit of afternoon strength.  Narrower ranges were seen in each of the averages, along with lighter volume.  Overall, it made for yet another day where the market was able to made modest progress while still putting in some essential rest.  We didn’t really run past Friday’s highs, but upticked and then churned on lighter volume – a great way to digest last week’s advances.

My focus for Tuesday in the way of new trades is going to be on day trades, with only a few on my radar.  I’ve still got several swing positions on, despite getting stopped on one today and booking profits on a couple more.  Details there are on the Hit List here inside the Hideout, but my point is that I’m doing my best to stay positioned for a continued move higher, should it occur.  I’m comfortable with the stocks I’m holding tonight, and not looking to add during tomorrow’s session for anything but short-term trades (if they trigger).  I expect we’ll see more swing setups emerging soon, but I just didn’t see anything tonight in the charts that I can’t live without.  As always, it’s important to let the best setups come to us, rather than lowering our standards or forcing trades in an attempt to “just get in” something.

Tonight I’m going with the written format rather than the usual video as I was midway through producing tonight’s Broadcast when my primary PC had a hard drive failure.  Fingers crossed, I have a backup drive which should leave me with only a minor inconvenience, and the system is under warranty, but let me remind you to back up your files regularly!  If a hardware failure’s going to happen, it will happen at an inconvenient time like on Valentine’s Day when you have a date with your wife! 😉  All good though, enjoy your night & go get ’em Tuesday!

Please leave your comments and/or questions below if you have any, I always enjoy the interaction.

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

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.

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

The Hit List will not be posted tonight as I am 100% cash overnight and there are no new swing trades for Tuesday. The Hit List typically contains stop and target levels for my swing trades.

Trade Like A Bandit!

Jeff

Good evening StockBandits!

Last week we saw some quiet basing action above prior resistance areas, with some modest strength on the heels of the breakout from the previous Friday.  Then we saw yet another breakout to new highs take place on Friday, sending the indexes into the weekend each at fresh 52-week highs.

The steady stair-step style uptrend continues to lift this market, and stocks are acting well.  We’ve seen brief periods of rest along the way, but very few pullbacks.  The dips we have seen have been modest and short-lived, as shorts rush to cover on weakness and the buyers step back in to put cash to work at virtually any lower prices.  At some point this type of price action will morph into something different, but for now, the trend is still up and there’s no technical reason to fight it.

Quite a few stocks are behaving well on a technical basis, and I expect that to continue for a while.  The only difficulty at this point is finding stocks which have based a sufficient amount of time to warrant a multi-day play (vs. a day trade), yet which are still participating in the market advance.  More are emerging daily though, and as they arrive I’ll certainly have them here.  For Monday, there are several plays I’m eyeing, and as usual, I’ll look to take them once they clear the levels highlighted in tonight’s video.

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: MOLX, ADSK, AA, RDC, WLT, MON

Swing Trading Candidates:

MON has put in some healthy rest for almost two weeks as it consolidates here near its highs.  A push through the upper trend line would take place at $75.80, so I’m looking to get long this stock if and when that breakout occurs.  As with all swing trades, my stop and target levels for this trade are found on the Hit List here inside the Hideout.

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Bullish Watch:

ATPG, ADSK, RCII, IDCC, APKT, PAY, ADTN, KSU, LBTYA, LRCX, XXIA, JAZZ, LEN, ARMH, SFY, CHK, SOL, LDK, CSX, BRKS, MON, SWK, AA, RDC, MOLX, HUN, CXO, WFR, HES, EL, PXP, CCJ, HSC, CRUS, RL, SFN, KLIC, EP, PTEN

Bearish Watch:

WLT, SLAB, VMW, SSRI, AG

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 major indexes battled back from negative territory today to finish flat, shaking off poor news in tech stocks CSCO and AKAM.  The dip-buyers are still present, and whether it’s bulls who are putting cash to work on minor pullbacks or shorts who are anxious to cover doesn’t matter – there’s still a persistent bid beneath this market and the trend is up.

At this point, the market is respecting the short-term highs as it consolidates just beneath those levels.  At the same time, we’re holding above former resistance zones, which offers a first layer of short-term support for the time being.  We could see volatility pick up anytime, but for now the indexes continue to cling near highs without any shake-ups.

Heading into Friday, there are some setups on my radar for new plays, but I’ll be looking to keep my timeframe short for the most part.  The Hit List has one swing which hasn’t yet triggered (along with a few which I’m currently holding), so aside from those I’m eyeing a few day trades ahead of the weekend.

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: ADSK, EL, PXP, HSC, BYI

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

Bullish Watch:

ETFC, ADSK, GTI, ADTN, LNG, PAY, KKR, KSU, LRCX, XXIA, JAZZ, MOS, LXK, URI, CELL, MON, SGY, JKS, RDC, STEC, SWK, ARBA, SWKS, BMC, EL, TA, PXP, CSX, FSLR, HSC, GRMN, SU

Bearish Watch:

HMIN, SLAB, DLB, F, BYI

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’s session saw narrow ranges and some back-and-forth action as the indexes failed to gather lasting momentum in either direction.  Each finished with single-digit net changes, with the DJIA coming in a few points positive while the others finished slightly red.

All in all, it was a day of digestion.  The market has made a nice recent move higher from the lows of last week, so to see the buyers take a bit of a break isn’t unhealthy.  We’re still just a short distance from the highs and still above recently-cleared resistance zones, so today’s minor pullback isn’t anything for the bulls to be concerned about.  We saw a bit of a lift into the closing bell, reminding us that the dip-buyers are still present (as if we’ve forgotten).

The tough thing about this market right now is that it’s not easy to be long or short in.  We’ve crept higher for quite some time now, making it easy to worry about a pullback – and one of these days we’ll see one.  At the same time, shorts haven’t really paid well, as every dip in this market has been bought and that makes it difficult to get downside traction – even in weak stocks.  So it’s the kind of environment where we just have to continue to seek out the best setups and manage our risk accordingly while we wait for higher volatility to arrive.

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: KSU, KKR, MON, PAAS, CSX, SLAB

Swing Trading Candidates:

CSX is sitting in a high base within its uptrend, and could get back on the move any day.  I’ll be a buyer if the upper trend line gets cleared at $71.25. As with all swing trades, my stop and target levels for this trade are found on the Hit List here inside the Hideout.

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

SLAB rolled over decisively a few weeks ago and has since only managed a partial bounce on poor volume.  This has created a rising wedge pattern, which is bearish, so I’m watching for a break of the lower trend line to trigger a short entry at $45.30. As with all swing trades, my stop and target levels for this trade are found on the Hit List here inside the Hideout.

Chart courtesy of TeleChart

Bullish Watch:

NXPI, RCII, GTI, KKR, KSU, LRCX, XXIA, JAZZ, ROC, IPXL, NANO, MON, SGY, TEX, SWK, CXO, OAS, BEXP, FLIR, NWS, EL, SOHU, SFD, PXP, CSX

Bearish Watch:

ANR, APA, SLAB, TRGL, PAAS, F, QLIK, WHR, CTXS, BYI, WLT, PCAR, SSRI, AG

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