Stocks are down early Thursday afternoon, with the S&P 500 down 0.45%. Important support to trade against is 1538-1545. The longer we stay above this area, the higher the probability we could take out pivot resistance at 1557-1563.
China PMI was decent. Europe? Not so much, but the Fed meeting is behind us, and although yesterday's session was quiet sometimes we do get a “trend” day right after so today could be interesting. Bernanke did say that the “pace of purchase" could be revisited.
Homebuilders (NYSE:XHB) made new 2013 highs on the back of Lennar (NYSE:LEN) earnings, but the sector didn’t have much company. Financials hang around, but are bit more hesitant, which makes sense with the Cyprus bank deal not done yet. There are also some significant divergences within the stocks in the group.
The Financial Sector ETF (NYSE:XLF) has new pivot support at $18.06. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) hangs in best but is extended from its 8- and 21-day MAa. The longer it stays above $12.40, the better it will look. Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) is trying to hold $37ish. That level will be pretty important for momentum, in my opinion. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is at an inflection point. It has been a bit weaker lately, breaking its intermediate upper level. If the stock were to break below $147.80ish with authority, it could give clues about the group and market.
Tech continues to be mixed. We have seen a lot of laggard type plays perk up in recent sessions as perhaps this rally gets somewhat exhausted. First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) was listed on Off the Charts Tuesday night as it poked its head into the earnings gap, and we got continuation to the upside yesterday. FSLR finished the day up 6% on good volume, and could fill that earnings gap.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) seems to be changed its composure. We focused on it late last week and the finally caught a nice trade as it broke its descending trend line around $435-440. Over the last two sessions it has been quiet, but has held higher and not retraced a significant portion of the bounce. If it can stay above $445-448, I do think the next buyable strategy could be if it reclaims its 50-day MA around $462.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is trying to hold the $805 area but needs to take out $819 with some authority to get back in upside motion, in my opinion.
LinkedIn (NASDAQ:LNKD) has been basing but slowed down a bit. It has decent support at $171, then 21day is $169.
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) has quieted down a bit and is trying to put a longer-term upper channel in above $176-179.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) broke down last week and the longer is stays below $262-265, the more pressure it might get.
Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) had a controlled pull-back to the 21-day MA, and now it needs to get above $22.35 and close above that level to act better.
EBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) has been beaten up but has a new pivot $49.55 to trade against, but $54.37 could be some resistance.
Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) had a huge move since the start of the year, but a pretty nasty topping tail with a screaming RSI got me short this yesterday. It's very extended from its 8- and 21-day MAs, a pull back to at least $22.18 makes sense to me, then 2-1day is $20.74.
Metals are acting a bit better.
Gold (NYSE:GLD) held above the recent support area around $155 and needs to clear $156.34 to potentially get going again.
The Gold Miner ETF (NYSE:GDX) is also holding a bit higher. Above $38-38.10 this could get some upside action.
A stock and company that we don't trade often but I think deserves a mention is Corning (NYSE:GLW). The company's core business is LED and LCD displays but they also are the creators of Gorilla Glass, the revolutionary material used in most smartphone and tablet screens. Our editor John Darsie @DarsieT3Live tweeted a chart and several links to stories on GLW prior to the breakout above $13, and the stock got momentum yesterday through that level. In the long-term, GLW has a compelling story and plenty of room on the chart.
*DISCLOSURES: Scott Redler is long AAPL, S, MGM, GLW, F, YHOO, BAC, AAPL call spread. Short SPY, HPQ.
