Good evening StockBandits!

This morning, stocks began the new week with lots of indecision as the indexes stayed range-bound for the first couple of hours.  Once the morning highs were cleared, we saw the market catch a bid which held for the remainder of the day.  The rally wasn’t impressive, as we did stay within Friday’s trading range (inside day), but it provided a modest lift on the day, leaving the indexes in the green by the closing bell.

A higher-low scenario is certainly possible here, with last week’s low having potential to hold.  At this point, it seems that notion isn’t being widely embraced, particularly if today’s inside bars and lighter volume are considered.  However, the bulls have a good technical shot here at building on the stabilization of the recent pullback, so we have to keep an open mind.

For the time being, the indexes are short-term range-bound, and with volume trailing off here I’m still reluctant to embrace trades for timeframes beyond a few hours.  Within trading ranges, as you know, the price action is indecisive, and reversals are much more prevalent.  Add to that the fact that there are primarily what I would call mediocre setups out there tonight, and there’s little reason for committing capital here.  That’s subject to changing by the day, but looking slightly to the left on the charts we see May becoming range-bound, and until that changes it means swing trades won’t get much sympathy direction from the overall market.

By the way, be sure to scroll down beneath tonight’s Broadcast to check out my mid-day Chart Review post for Stocks Under $20.

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: ARW, FFIV, SINA, NTES, OSK

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

[table “40” 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!

Happy Mother’s Day to those of you who are Moms!  You are under-appreciated every other day of the year.

Last week proved interesting as the indexes tagged new highs on Monday morning on the heels of the Bin Laden news, and worked its way lower from there.  The indexes were already extended after making sharp moves higher from the mid-April tests of the February lows, and a rest was certainly needed.  As a result, the news many Americans had waited over 9 years to hear was used as a reason to book profits.  The selling continued through Thursday, when the NAZ and S&P 500 both tested prior key levels and held them on the close.  Then, the pre-market jobs report on Friday sent the futures spiking higher, producing a substantial opening gap to the upside.  That strength also faded, however, as the indexes gave up about 1% from their morning highs to finish modestly positive on the session.

At this point, we’ve got some key levels to eyeball for short-term support and resistance, so those will be my focus in the days ahead until we see a clean breach.  On the top side are the highs at 2887 (NAZ) and 1370 (S&P 500), and on the low side are 2802 (NAZ) and 1332 (S&P 500).  While some are quick to jump out and declare last week’s action a “sell in May and go away” environment, I don’t think we can dismiss the remainder of the month so easily.  The indexes are still coming off the creation of higher highs and higher lows, and thus far we’ve only seen a modest retracement back down.  This pullback could still evolve into yet another higher low, so since the trends are still up, I’m keeping an open mind.

My watch lists have shrunken in recent days as leadership stocks have faltered and bases which had been under construction have been negated with this pullback.  That’s alright, and pullbacks can be useful to pare back watch lists.  What’s important is that during this period of indecision on the part of the market, that we don’t simply force buys or chase shorts and hope the market proves us right.  The course of action I’m sticking with is to let the charts set up, formulate some if/then scenarios for potential trades, and go from there.  The market will punish impatience, so I’ll look to maintain high levels of cash over these next couple of days until there are some solid technical reasons to choose a side.  My expectation (which is subject to change, depending upon how this market moves) is that we’ll see some opportunities primarily on the long side with some occasional shorting candidates.  The charts will decide for me though, so the good news is I don’t need to go with a hunch.

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: AMZN, CSCO, ATI, VRTX, ARW, SOHU, SINA, RCII, MOS, BIDU, COH, PLCE, NTES, OPEN, OSK, GS

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

[table “39” 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!

A downside gap this morning was eventually filled as the indexes worked their way back into positive territory by mid-day.  They weren’t able to hold there, however, and the selling pressure returned in the afternoon to make new session lows.  The pace accelerated in the final 90 minutes, generating talk of last year’s flash crash just a day before the anniversary of May 6, but in the last half hour, we did see a rebound from the lows of the day into the closing bell.

Today’s move is simply a continuation of the pullback which started with Monday’s upside gap.  Prior key levels are being tested here, which gives us some areas to eyeball as potential support.  However, it’s important to note that even if those levels get undercut, this is still currently a healthy pullback.  Conditions could worsen and change that, but for the time being this is still just a dip within the existing uptrend.  Keep in mind, new multi-year highs were being hit at the start of this week.

My stance this week has been to take things pretty easy and let this slide play out.  Anticipatory buys aren’t paying off, so it’s best to let some new levels get established and allow some new patterns to form before committing to a direction.  Trading the long side within an uptrend and the short side within downtrends is the ideal way to trade, so I have no interest in shorting here.  At the same time, we’re still waiting for this dip to get completed, so it still feels early to be getting long for anything but quick flips.

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: GA, WSM, COH, RCII, NVDA, SMH, OCR, SCCO

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

[table “38” 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 short-term pullback continued today as the indexes sold off into mid-day.  Key areas were tested, at which point buyers emerged to provide a lift from the lows of the day into the closing bell.  The rebound wasn’t significant, but it was enough to remind us that the overall trends are still up.

To see a multi-day pullback like this rattles some market participants, but as traders we know it’s just part of the ebb and flow.  We discussed last week how the indexes had become short-term extended, so to see some profit-taking kick in is actually a healthy thing.  So long as this dip doesn’t evolve into an all-out reversal (and undercut prior lows), it has a shot at creating another higher low.  Along the way, more bases will be built and leadership stocks may rotate, so it’s important right now to keep a close eye on the charts and watch for developing patterns.

I’m still only considering day trades for tomorrow’s session, as there simply aren’t well-defined, mature patterns available at the moment which I trust for multi-day moves (swing trades).  The overall market trend is still up, but we’re in a pullback at the moment, which also keeps things a bit tricky.  Stated otherwise, I don’t want to be shorting here, but it may also be a bit premature to aggressively buy.  As such, I’ll stick with day trades in the short term until some higher-quality patterns set up for swing plays.  My watch lists have been pared back considerably over the past few days, which also means fewer stocks are really in play here.

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: SLV, AAPL, FFIV, WSM, DTG, JNPR, AN, ZMH, X

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

[table “37” 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 pullback/rest phase which started Monday continued today as the indexes spent the bulk of today’s session in negative territory.  The downside damage wasn’t significant, however, and was also aided by a late-day rebound from the lows of the session.  In the end, the DJIA finished flat, while the other indexes posted modest losses while respecting some key levels.

The pace of this dip should be encouraging to the bulls, as we’ve yet to see a serious change of character.  We’re still just a short distance from highs, which is to say we could reach them again quickly if this market catches a bid.  For now, the buyers are taking a well-deserved and healthy rest, so there’s no need to force buys while the market stagnates.  My list of potential trades for Wednesday is rather limited, and that’s fine with me.  I’d rather stick with quality than quantity, so it’s not about having a ton of setups to focus on.  There are slow days and busy days, and it could simply be that tomorrow is a day to mark time while this market continues to consolidate.  The key is not to overtrade when conditions aren’t very favorable for momentum-type plays.

One thing I noticed tonight in looking through many charts of individual stocks was the number of pattern failures.  Several leadership stocks like LULU and MELI broke down from bullish consolidations which had been building, thus negating those patterns.  Quite a few others did the same, which cleaned up my watch lists a bit.  That’s to be expected in the midst of a rest phase or pullback, and helps us to locate stocks which may be poised to lead the next move.  Let me encourage you to keep your attention on those setups which are showing some potential, rather than those which used to perform well.

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, MELI, LULU, LPSN, FFIV, JNPR, DTG

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

[table “36” 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!

Sunday night’s late news regarding the killing of Osama Bin Laden spiked the futures higher, but not to a large degree.  The S&P’s traded immediately higher by about 1%, and then slid gradually lower through the night.  By the opening bell, they were still positive, but only by a few points.

While it’s certainly a big win for the U.S. to have Bin Laden out of the picture, the market likely anticipated this would eventually happen and therefore it didn’t prompt a huge market reaction.  When overlaid with the short-term overbought nature of the market after another big run last week, it actually prompted some profit-taking in a sell-the-news response – something I discussed late last night on Twitter.

The indexes reached new session lows in the final hour, but today’s slide was very minor.  That could bode well for the bulls, particularly if they’re able to simply allow this market to rest or correct in a shallow fashion in the coming days.

As I’ve noted here of late, trapped shorts + underinvested bulls could quite easily combine for a steady bid beneath this market, which may prevent a major selloff.  That’s of course subject to change depending on geopolitical events and the news flow, but barring any new big developments, we might actually see a shallow rest phase here rather than a harsh shift of direction – even with the ‘flash crash’ anniversary approaching this Friday.

A rest phase would also help to continue building the bases which many charts are currently working on.  Tonight in looking through many charts, there are fewer which look ready for immediate moves but still quite a few which remain within consolidations and therefore could offer potential going forward.

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: COO, MELI, RCII, MOS, ROK

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

[table “35” 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!

Last week, the indexes each pushed to new multi-year highs, confirming the higher-low scenario which has been outlined here multiple times in recent weeks.  The rebound off the lows of the previous week was continued, and stocks strengthened to stretch their legs a bit.  That puts some needed space between current prices and prior resistance, which could now serve as support on a pullback – when and if we happen to see one.

Currently, the market is a bit stretched in the near term, as evidenced by a streak of 8 consecutive gains for the NAZ as well as an unsustainable upside pace.  Whether we see some actual profit-taking kick in to produce a pullback or we simply see prices stagnate for a few days to help digest this run remains unclear at this point.  I’ve said previously, however, that there are likely some trapped shorts as well as plenty of underinvested bulls who are both likely to aggressively buy dips, and that could prevent the downside from gaining any real momentum – barring negative news, of course.

As I sifted through hundreds and hundreds of charts this weekend, I was impressed to see how well individual stocks are acting.  A ton of them are exhibiting exceptional strength, with quite a few still building bases.  That could not only keep us busy in the days ahead, but could also help to perpetuate this market rally as money rotates out of extended names and into others which are showing good potential.  As usual, I’ll keep an eye on the earnings calendar in order to avoid any surprises, but otherwise the environment looks to be heating up.

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: YOKU, DANG, QIHU, GMLP, UAN, LULU, ADSK, DTG, VRX, SINA, SD, MRO, NTES, ROVI, TGT, WTI

Swing Trading Candidates:

WTI broke out ahead of earnings and then spiked much higher once the news was out last Tuesday.  The final three days of the week saw a quiet pullback on much lighter volume, suggesting the buyers are simply resting.  This has created a clean bull pennant pattern, and I’m on watch for higher prices.  I’ll be a buyer if and when this one clears the upper trend line of the pennant with a push through $27.25. 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 “34” 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 major averages added slight gains on top of their recent runs today, finishing at new highs once again and just slightly off their best levels of the session.  Intraday momentum was hard to come by though, with early and late strength sandwiching several hours of mid-day indecision.  Volume remained strong, aided by heavy earnings-related activity in stocks like MSFT & RIMM (both of which reported after the bell).

Eyeing the daily charts, we see that this market clearly has exhibited strength of late, but also is due for some rest most likely sooner than later.  Whether that comes in the form of an actual pullback or we simply see stocks mark time by moving laterally remains to be seen.  Regardless, the indexes are looking a bit stretched here in the short-term, which makes new buys difficult to make here for anything but intraday plays.

I’m interested to see how a rest and/or pullback gets treated once it does arrive.  I suspect that we’ll see shorts eager to cover and bulls who have felt left-behind also anxious to buy.  That could keep an underlying bid beneath this market in the days ahead, even if the upside pace slows.  Stated otherwise, the trend is up and there’s no reason to fight it.  Just be careful not to chase it here.

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: CTRP, NTAP, EL, ROVI, HOG

Swing Trading Candidates:

NONE TONIGHT

[table “33” 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 major averages added to their recent gains today after an indecisive morning to hit new multi-year highs by the closing bell.  All eyes were on the FOMC announcement which came earlier than usual (see correction in last night’s Broadcast & comments), and then the news conference with Fed Chair Bernanke.  The response was a positive one, however, as the buying resumed once the dust settled and more cash was put to work late in the session.

At this point, the buyers clearly have momentum, and I’m not interested in trying to fade it.  Momentum is something which can last longer than many expect in the market, so we could continue higher over the next few sessions.  With that said, we are at a point where the pace of this run is getting unsustainable, and therefore it’s important to start watching for potential signs of short-term fatigue.  That could come by way of an upside gap which prompts profit-taking, but regardless of how it arrives we ought to be on watch for some sort of a rest.  It doesn’t have to be a sharp pullback either, as trapped shorts and anxious bulls are both likely to keep a bid beneath this market.

My plan is to continue trading the long side, while favoring pullback types of setups for new swings.  Momentum plays and breakouts at this point should be best utilized for intraday trades, so I’ll use shortened timeframes for those.

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: WFT, NVDA, HMIN, CIEN, GLNG, LVS, SCCO, PWRD

Swing Trading Candidates:

PWRD ran higher a couple of weeks ago and has since pulled back and held above the prior breakout.  The pullback has created a descending trend line which I’m watching for a pivot to get long this stock.  I like how volume has contracted along with price, indicating this dip isn’t a change of character.  I’ll be a buyer if this one clears $26.60 for a swing trade, and earnings are still about 3 weeks from now according to Yahoo Finance. 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 “32” 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!

Monday’s action proved constructive even though it lacked volume and momentum, and judging by today’s moves, it was a quiet day put to good use.  The indexes needed a breather of some sort after a quick ramp from a test of the February lows early last week, so it was healthy to see.

Today we saw volume return in a meaningful way, accompanying solid advances in price as each of the big 3 indexes pushed to new multi-year highs.  I made numerous mentions of the possibility of the last pullback resulting in a higher low, and last week as the market turned higher, I said it looked to be in the process of being confirmed with only a push past the early-April highs being needed to truly solidify it.  Today that took place as we also cleared the February highs, and once again the trend in every timeframe is classified as ‘up.’

The bulls have both hands on the wheel of this market, despite plenty of reasons for caution.  We’ve seen time and time again how the market shrugs off headlines and concern and powers forward, and that’s what’s taking place here.  Earnings announcements have for the most part proven to be encouraging, leaving economic worries and overseas turmoil on the back burner for the time being.  So while there may at some point be an end to this run, the fact of the matter for us as traders is that technically we’ve endured a couple of pullbacks just this year and the buyers have prevailed and produced new highs.  That’s not the kind of environment I want to be fighting.

While the trend remains up, it still isn’t the kind of momentum-prone market where buying new highs aggressively has been rewarded.  So, I’m taking my cues for direction from the indexes (long), but favoring pullback plays for entries rather than breakouts at this point.  I’ll continue to work the charts and monitor the earnings calendars (since we’re right in the thick of earnings season this week and next) to ensure I sidestep any surprises.  Aside from that, tomorrow is a Fed day with the main event taking place at 2:15pm ET correction: 12:30pm ET, so heads-up for the usual mid-afternoon volatility which tends to surround FOMC announcements on interest rates & the accompanying policy statement.

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: GLNG, MON, NXPI, CLF, BVN, WFT

Swing Trading Candidates:

WFT just pulled back and stabilized at an area above the prior low.  That sets up a potential higher-low scenario, so I’m now watching for a bullish event to trigger a buy and get long for a rally from this area of support.  That would take place if and when the trend line is cleared at $21.00. 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 “31” 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