Commentary:
For the first time this week, all of the major indices finished higher on the day. However, the gains were slim and trade was light. The S&P MidCap 400 led the advance as it posted a 0.3% gain on the session. The Nasdaq closed up by 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average, The S&P 500 and the small-cap Russell 2000 all finished higher by 0.1%. The Nasdaq ended the day by establishing a new two year high. Stocks continue to grind higher despite the absence of institutional participation.
For the second consecutive day, market internals were mixed. Turnover was down across the board on Wednesday. Volume dropped by 7% on the NYSE and 1% on the Nasdaq. Trade also remained well below average. Advancing volume was greater than declining volume on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq, by a factor of 1.4 to 1.
On November 24th we took a long position in the United States Natural Gas ETF (UNG), as a potential trend reversal candidate. Since that time it has been quite a choppy ride in this ETF. However, UNG is now exhibiting signs that the potential trend reversal is gaining momentum. On December 28th UNG formed an impressive reversal candle on very strong volume, and closed above the 20-day and 50-day moving averages. Yesterday, it undercut the 20 and 50 day MA’s, but rallied back to close near the highs of the session. A move back above $5.88 could very well be the catalyst for a sustained reversal.
Since November 9th, the S&P Select Sector Technology SPDR ETF (XLK), has been forming a cup and handle-like pattern. Since December 7th, it has been consolidating in a very tight trading range (fifty cent range). A volume propelled rally back above yesterday’s high of $25.34, may provide a buying opportunity in XLK.
In the first two days of December, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged by an impressive 355 points. Since then the Dow has only been able to advance another 223 points. Irrespective of the holiday season, this type of price action and accompanying weak market internals, suggest the rally may be losing momentum.
Please note. On Friday December 31st, only an abbreviated version of The Wagner Daily, summarizing open positions, will be published. Happy New Year to all!
Today’s Watchlist:
There are no new official setups for today. As always, 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
Stopped out of YCS with a smaller than average loss. BZQ triggered its stop as well.
- 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.
Having trouble seeing the position summary graphic above?
Click here to view it directly on your Internet browser instead.
Notes:
Edited by Deron Wagner,
MTG Founder and
Head Trader