ETFs and market commentary:
Stocks closed higher on Monday but faded into the close. Trade was light. The small-cap Russell 2000 finally set a new 52-week high, as it cleared resistance at 833. By the closing bell the Russell had tacked on 0.9%. The Nasdaq finished a close second as it added 0.8%. The S&P 500 improved by 0.4%, while the S&P MidCap 400 saw a 0.2% advance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the day’s laggard, as it closed only fractionally above breakeven. Telecommunications, construction and utilities were among the weakest sectors, while gaming, tourism and computer hardware showed relative strength.
Yesterday marked the fourth consecutive days that internals were mixed. Volume plunged on the Nasdaq by 23.9% and on the NYSE by 44.9%. However, advancing volume held the upper hand over declining volume by a ratio of 1.2 to 1 on the NYSE and 2.0 to 1 on the Nasdaq. Based on Monday’s light volume, it is safe to say that institutions were not active in the market. Neither the Nasdaq nor the NYSE posted an accumulation day.
Over the past four sessions, the iShares MSCI Mexico Investable Market ETF (EWW) has been consolidating in a tight pennant-like formation. A move above yesterday’s high of $61.50 could provide a buying opportunity in this emerging market ETF.
Over the past two sessions, the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB) has been exhibiting signs that it may be ready to revisit support near its 20-day EMA. An undercut of this key mark could offer a possible buy entry trigger for ITB. We will continue to monitor this ETF as a potential long candidate on a pullback.
Yesterday we were stopped out of our long position in XLU late in the session. We also entered a long position in UWM as it hit its trigger early in the day. Be the close, UWM was modestly in the money. Our other open positions in IYR, USO and DIG all closed higher and in the upper third of their respective intraday trading ranges. The breakout in the small-cap Russell 2000 to a fresh 52-week high was a positive development yesterday and should spur more buying activity in the market. Ideally, we would now like to see the small-cap index hold the breakout and close the gap with the other major indices before pulling back to test its new found support.
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:
- UWM long triggered and XLU stopped us out.
- 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.
Per intraday alert, we bought PCYC on breakout from a tight trading range above 26.00. We plan to add to existing positions in WCG and SWI over the high of March 19. Trade details can be found in the watchlist section below. The STX buy setup was cancelled, as we prefer to stick with the positions we have until we book some winners.
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:
- Added WCG and PCYC to the portfolio. STX buy setup was cancelled.
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