Tag Archives: market lab report

MLR – PMP 3/18/15

Major averages closed mixed yesterday on mixed volume, higher on the NASDAQ, lower on the S&P 500. The Federal Reserve concludes its two day meeting today. Markets are hoping Yellen, who is dovish when it comes to tightening, will keep any such hikes in the distant future, though the Fed has signaled it is looking to hike rates sooner than later, depending on the strength of the economy. Of course, this strength is highly debatable since some critical statistics have been manipulated to make the US economy appear artificially stronger. Futures are down about 0.4% at the time of this writing as markets nervously await the Fed announcement which is due at 2 pm EST today. Investors will find out if the Fed has taken a further step toward raising interest rates by taking out the word “patient” from its current policy statement. However, Janet Yellen has been careful to point out in her previous press conference that a change in language is not necessarily indicative of an imminent change of policy. Thus the key factor today will not necessarily be what the Fed says, but how the market reacts to whatever the Fed says. Simply watch your stocks.

MLR – PMP 3/17/15

Major averages rose yesterday on lower volume. The S&P 500 and Dow both retook their respective 50dma’s after falling back under on Friday. The NASDAQ Composite closed just under its 50dma. That said, Monday’s rally, once again on lower volume, shows a lack of institutional interest while the large number of distribution days shows mounting selling pressure. Meanwhile, oil traded at new multi-year lows on storage concerns that a lack of storage would further flood the oil market, adding to the supply glut. The Federal Reserve concludes its two-day FOMC meeting on Wednesday. Investors are waiting to see if the central bank removes the word “patient”, as this would be an important clue as to when the Fed will begin pushing up interest rates. Pocket pivots: Cell-based cancer immunotherapy company Juno Therapeutics (JUNO) – This is a development stage biotech that recently came public. Earnings are released after the close this Wednesday. Both risk and reward are sizeable for this stock, though reward outweighs risk given the company’s fundamentals going forward. JUNO hopes to revolutionize medicine by using the body’s immune system to treat cancer by using human cells. The company believes this will drive one of the next big pushes in medicine. Semiconductor Qorvo (QRVO) – Earnings are soaring, accelerating sales, group rank 3. Cruise line operator Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCLH) – Strong earnings and sales, group rank 40.

MLR – PMP 3/16/15

Editorial note: Our members receive full daily PMP reports (Mon-Fri) while non-members receive weekly reports that exclude any actionable names.  Major averages closed down Friday on higher volume but managed to recover about half of the losses to close midbar. Oil resumed its downtrend as it is close to testing multi-year lows while the dollar continued to hit multi-year highs. A strong dollar negatively affects big cap international companies the most. Overnight China indicated that it may have to implement additional stimulus measures as it appears unlikely that the Chinese economy will meet its growth targets. While the market is on edge about higher rates down the road due to a stronger economy, the Fed knows that the declining unemployment rate does not tell the full story, thus unusually low rates may be here to stay for quite a bit longer than expected. As Steve Forbes wrote: “The labor force participation rate has hovered at an all-time low for nearly a year. The last time this many Americans stopped looking for work was 1978. We must return to the kinds of free-market principles that create jobs, and stop relying on Big Government!” Of course, low rates dont mean we cant get a correction of some magnitude so stay nimble. Online takeout order provider GrubHub (GRUB) had a pocket pivot on Friday, but while earnings are skyrocketing and sales are strong, the company has yet to double from its IPO price. Normally, one wants to see a company having at least doubled from its IPO price. Hot companies often price at more than twice their IPO price. That is not to say GRUB cant work, but its weekly price chart shows some lethargy and likely indicates that it need some time to build a handle to a large cup formation it has formed since August of last year.