Commentary:

Stocks rose modestly on Thursday, as volume faded. Stocks closed mixed on Wednesday on modestly higher volume. Large cap tech stocks weighed down the market for most of the day. After being ravaged by almost 2.5%, the Nasdaq surged higher late in the session to close down only 1.0% on the day. All the other major indices posted modest gains following the late day surge. The small-cap Russell 2000 and the S&P MidCap 400 ended higher by 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. The S&P 500 also added 0.2%, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed fractionally higher.

For a second straight day, market internals ended the session mixed. Volume dropped significantly across on both exchanges. On the Nasdaq turnover slid nearly 19.0%, while on the NYSE it fell 11.5%. Advancing volume did however hold the upper hand across the board. By the closing bell up volume topped down volume by nearly 4.0 to 1 on the NYSE and 3.7 to 1 on the Nasdaq. Given the light volume, we would not consider Thursday a distribution day.

During our research last evening, we noticed quite a few Head & Shoulders patterns in the market. In particular, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has formed a very distinct bullish Head and Shoulders. Notice the projected rally for the DJIA should it breakout above its neckline. The projected rally for a H&S pattern is the distance from the head to the neckline, projected above the neckline. The S&P 500 is also forming a distinct H&S, while the Nasdaq is not offering a similar setup. This is not surprising given the way the Nasdaq has lagged the broad market as of late.

The iShares Dow Jones Transportation Average ETF (IYT) has formed a distinct, bullish head and shoulders pattern on the daily chart. An important characteristic of a legitimate head and shoulders pattern is its symmetry. The H&S pattern for IYT is quite symmetrical and we are now close to the neckline. A move above $90.50 could present a buying opportunity in this ETF. If IYT breaks above the neckline, the project rally would be in the vicinity of $100.00. We are placing ITY on the watchlist. Trade details are available to subscribing members in the watchlist segment of the newsletter.

Yesterday, we opened a position in YCS as it hit its trigger on a big spike in volume. Our other open position (ZSL) continues to act well, as it spent the day consolidating along the 20-period and 50-period moving averages on the 60-minute chart. ZSL has now formed a distinct pennant formation that appears ready to resolve to the upside. The market continues to show signs of life as we come into the Christmas Holliday. Caution is warranted at this time of year since volume is typically light. Consequently, we suggest sticking with smaller position size until market conditions improve.

REMINDER: The market is closed on Monday and there will be no newsletter. The next newsletter will be published on Tuesday, December 27th.

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Today’s Watchlist:

IYT
Long

Shares = 70
Trigger = 90.66
Stop = 85.80
Target = 99.70
Dividend Date = n/a

Notes = see commentary above

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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 Daily Subscriber Guide for important, automatic rules on trigger and stop prices

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Notes:

• YCS buy entry triggered over the 5-minute high.
• 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 support@morpheustrading.com if not already set up for this value-added feature we provide to subscribers.

Edited by Deron Wagner,
MTG Founder and
Head Trader