Tag Archives: market lab report

Market Lab Report – Premarket Pulse 5/13/15

Markets gapped lower yesterday as bonds continued their freefall, but then managed to close in the upper half of their respective trading ranges, with the NASDAQ Composite closing above its 50-day moving average after trading under its 50-day moving average for a good part of the day, and the S&P 500 bouncing off its own 50-day moving average. Markets remain stuck in a sloppy trading range though the amplitudes of the major indices are diminishing, suggesting that a potential breakout or breakdown out of the range may lie shortly ahead. Futures are currently up about half a percent at the time of this writing. Investors should remain aware of leading stocks that are acting normally during the pullback and any potential long entry points that occur on light-volume pullbacks into areas of logical support.

Market Lab Report – Premarket Pulse 5/12/15

Major averages fell yesterday on lower volume, though the Russell 2000 managed a tiny gain. As noted, markets remain stuck in a trading range. And this morning the indexes are set to test the lows of the range once again as bond markets across the globe are selling off hard. Patience has been the market’s middle name since December. Keep stops tight and take profits where you have them in context with the stock in question and the markets. China cut interest rates again for the third time in six months to boost its economy. This time, however, it did not boost the US markets which is another piece of evidence that US markets are becoming increasingly resistant to QE-favorable news. Drug maker Actavis (ACT had a buyable gap-up after announcing a strong earnings report). 8 quarters of institutional sponsorship growth pre-tax margins 28.4%, and group rank 4. Keep in mind, however, that buying into strength in this market has not been an efficient or effective way to buy stocks given the uneven action in the general market.

Market Lab Report – Premarket Pulse 5/11/15

Major averages rose on lower volume after it was reported that the US churned out 223,000 new jobs in April, pushing unemployment rate down to 5.4% from 5.5%, the lowest level since mid-2008. This is a good sign the economy is recovering after growth stalled in the first quarter and hiring briefly nosedived. All major averages are now once again above their respective 50dmas. While the unemployment statistics are somewhat suspect, the number of people who entered the labor force in search of work also rose. Plus, institutional market psychology is key as it determines whether the big boys step up which pushes the markets higher. And institutional portfolio managers are always in a race to beat the major averages. So, one could argue in lemming-like fashion, portfolio managers follow the big money flows. Not that there is anything wrong with this strategy as long as a PM is quick to reverse course away from the herd at the right time, such as in early 2008 or March/April of 2000. Of course, most don’t thus the majority fail to beat major benchmarks such as the S&P 500. The latest employment figures push the odds in favor of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in 2015 for the first time in nine years. The central bank has said it is data dependent, tying its decision to steady improvement in the labor market. While we had a number of pocket pivots and buyable gap ups in recent days, keep in mind that the market may still be stuck in a trading range, though the true leaders will buck a general market trading range. Mobileye (MBLY) announced earnings this morning pre-open, and is set to gap up slightly. We had previously reported on this as a buyable gap-up move three weeks ago