ETFs and market commentary:
Stocks closed mixed on Monday as volume waned. Large cap issues outperformed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.3%. The S&P 500 closed fractionally higher, while the Nasdaq, S&P MidCap 400 and small-cap Russell 2000 slid 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.3% respectively. Specialty finance and Utilities were the best performing sectors, while coal, precious metals and oil services were the day’s underachievers. Overall, it was a quiet session.
For the fourth time in as many days, market internals were mixed. Volume declined on the Nasdaq by almost 15.0% and on the NYSE by 10.7%. Declining volume held the upper hand on both exchanges. The ratio of advancing volume to declining volume ended the session at minus 1.5 to 1 on the NYSE and minus 1.8 to 1 on the Nasdaq. For a second straight day, institutions were absent from the market.
Over the past six weeks the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) has tested resistance near $22.60 on three separate occasions. Since testing support at the 50-day MA on March 6th, KBE has rallied to reclaim its 10-day and 20-day moving averages. A move above the two day high of $22.62 would be the fourth test of this key resistance level and could result in a buying opportunity in KBE.
Since testing support of its 20-day EMA on March 6th and 7th, the DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund has been consolidating just above this key mark for the past three sessions. A volume assited move above last Friday’s high of $29.43 could provide a buy entry trigger for this ETF.
Yesterday, we were stopped out of our position in SRS for a modest loss. Via intraday alert, we reversed our stance on the real estate sector as we took a long position in IYR. Our open position in XLU performed nicely yesterday. XLU showed relative strength, as it broke out on high volume and closed near the high of the day. After three consecutive winning sessions, the market took a rest yesterday. All five major indices printed inside candles on light volume. This is generally considered bullish price action during an established uptrend. If the broad market can find its way back above the two day high, a significant rally could be at hand.
Today’s ETF Watchlist:
Daily Performance Report:
Below is an overview of all open positions, as well as a performance report on all positions that were closed only since the previous day’s newsletter. Net P/L figures are based on the $50,000 Wagner Daily model account size. Changes to open positions since the previous report are listed in red text below. Please review the Wagner DailySubscriber Guide for important, automatic rules on trigger and stop prices
Having trouble seeing the position summary graphic above? Click here to view it directly on your Internet browser instead.
Notes:
- Per intraday alert, sold SRS and bought IYR.
- Reminder to subscribers – Intraday Trade Alerts to your e-mail and/or mobile phone are normally only sent to indicate a CHANGE to the pre-market plan that is detailed in each morning’s Wagner Daily. We sometimes send a courtesy alert just to confirm action that was already detailed in the pre-market newsletter, but this is not always the case. If no alert is received to the contrary, one should always assume we’re honoring all stops and trigger prices listed in each morning’s Wagner Daily. But whenever CHANGES to the pre-market stops or trigger prices are necessary, alerts are sent on an AS-NEEDED basis. Just a reminder of the purpose of Intraday Trade Alerts.
- For those of you whose ISPs occasionally deliver your e-mail with a delay, make sure you’re signed up to receive our free text message alerts sent to your mobile phone. This provides a great way to have redundancy on all Intraday Trade Alerts. Send your request to [email protected] if not already set up for this value-added feature we provide to subscribers.
We added one new long position yesterday in ALXN, as it triggered off the official watchlist. ALXN closed near the highs of the day on strong price and volume action. We plan to increase our position size if current positions hold up and move higher. So far the setups continue to develop……it’s the follow through that has been the problem.
Today’s Stock Watchlist:
Daily Performance Report:
Below is an overview of all open positions, as well as a performance report on all positions that were closed only since the previous day’s newsletter. Net P/L figures are based on the $50,000 model account size. Changes to open positions since the previous report are listed in red text below.
Having trouble seeing the position summary graphic above? Click here to view it directly on your Internet browser instead.
Notes:
- ALXN long triggered off the watchlist.
Relative Strength Watchlist:
The Relative Strength (or RS) Watchlist makes it easy for subscribers to import data into their own scanning software, such as Tradestation, Interactive Brokers, and TC2000. The list is comprised of the strongest 100 (or so) stocks in the market over the past six to 12 months. The scan is based on the following criteria and is updated every Monday:
- Stock is in a well defined uptrend, trading above both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, with the 50-day moving average above the 200-day moving average (both moving averages should be in an uptrend as well).
- Today’s close is less than 20% off the 52-week high
- Close is greater than $5.
- Volume is greater than 200,000 shares per day (using a 50-day volume moving average).
Click here to view this week’s Relative Strength Watchlist in excel
Click here to view this week’s Relative Strength Watchlist as a text file