Commentary:
Stocks edged lower on Wednesday on mixed volume. Four of the five major indices closed down on the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the sole holdout, as it managed to close at the flatline. The small-cap Russell 2000 led the decline as it fell 0.7% yesterday. The Nasdaq shed 0.5%, but of greater significance was the inability of the tech rich index to close above the 20-day EMA. Further, it was the only index to close below all three moving averages on the 60-minute chart (20, 50 and 200 day moving averages). Yesterday’s sharp selloff in the semiconductor sector has placed the Nasdaq under significant pressure. The S&P MidCap 400 and the S&P 500 finished the session down by 0.1% and 0.2% respectively.
For the second consecutive session market internals were mixed. Volume was higher on the Nasdaq by 9.3% but lower on the NYSE by 11%. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by a factor of 2 to 1 on the Nasdaq and 1.1 to 1 on the NYSE. Based on both price and volume action, Wednesday would be classified as a distribution day for the Nasdaq.
We entered Wednesday with no open positions and no watchlist candidates. For the moment, we prefer to be in cash due to the lack of follow through in the market.
In yesterday’s newsletter we commented that, “The iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index ETF (TUR) has been in a “stair step” downtrend since November of 2010. A rally back into the downtrend line or the 50-day MA could provide a short entry for this ETF“. Yesterday, TUR gapped up for the second consecutive day and then stalled at the downtrend line. We will be closely monitoring the price and volume action in TUR for a potential short entry.
The semiconductor sector may hold the key to the next big move in the market. Yesterday, on a massive spike in volume, the Semiconductor HOLDRS ETF (SMH) gapped down and sold off to close near the session lows. A move back above the 50-day MA followed by a sharp reversal could present a short entry for this ETF.
The Nasdaq is beginning to exhibit signs of weakness and we are paying close attention to its price and volume action. The Nasdaq is generally considered to be a leading indicator for the broad market. The Nasdaq has now come under institutional distribution six times in the past ten sessions.
Today’s Watchlist:
There are no new official setups for today. We will send an Intraday Alert if any new trades are made.
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
- We remain 100% in cash.
- 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.
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Notes:
Edited by Deron Wagner,
MTG Founder and
Head Trader