Market Notes
Disappointing consumer sentiment numbers this morning dragged the market down but the headache was only temporary as the major averages did an abrupt turnaround and marched straight back from whence they came. A bull/bear face-off ensued with the bulls finally getting the upper hand, but it still wasn’t enough to break overhead resistance (1150 on the SPX, 454 on the DTX) which is becoming firmer with every passing test.
Might we break that magic spell tomorrow? It’s tough to say how Wall Street will react to tomorrow’s economic numbers, considering that traders shrugged off today’s bad news. Technically, we still could be in for a rough ride as volatility is still hanging in there. Specifically, we’re not seeing the VIX putting in a relative low when the market hits a relative high, and this could prove to be a thorn in the bull’s hoof.
Yet in spite of all the gloom and doomers on CNBC and sub-par economic news, the market somehow seems to want to do its own thing, and just from the action I’ve been seeing, the thing it wants to do is to rally. If any fundamental reason appears as to why it should, I do believe the market will have no problem breaking out. I’m also sure we’ll see an ebb in volatility and maybe, just maybe, a return of the retail investor.
Fingers crossed.
New Long Portfolio
Today’s portfolio selections come from the following *Blue Plate Specials* lists: Breaking out to new highs (1), Breaking out to new highs on lower volume (1), Darlings of the Day (5), and Low Leaders (3).
Today’s portfolio close-out
The 9/13 portfolio was cashed out for a 1.0 % gain. Although we squeaked out a profit, it would have been better had massive profit-taking at $10 not hurt HOOK.
Tomorrow, the 9/14 portfolio will be closed out.
[See 4/21/10 blog for further details on how these portfolios are constructed.]