Happy hump-day, one and all, and for those of you who took our advice on coal and/or aluminum stocks, it was a happy day indeed. Coal stocks were collectively up nearly 11% today, while aluminum stocks were up 6.2%. Those were the #1 and #3 performers for the day. The #2 spot was won by the non-ferrous metals stocks, largely for the same reason coal and aluminum stocks are up. Non-ferrous metal miners don't have the same bullish foundation that aluminum and coal stocks have right now though, so we'll stick with the two groups we came to the dance with. If my math is right, the Dow Jones Coal Index is now up 21% from our April 18th call, while the Dow Jones Aluminum Index is up 13% from our April 14th suggestion. Not too bad, considering how weak the market's been since then.
In any case, a bunch of you who've been following our saga of aluminum and coal have been asking how to turn those industry suggestions into a specific trade. The answer is, it depends.
I think we've said this before, but for those of you who are newcomers to the SCN newsletter it bears repeating: We're more than happy to give you some random thoughts and observations about the market in general and certain industries in particular (when appropriate). But, if you're looking for specific trading suggestions - complete with entries and targets - then the Elite Opportunity is what you're looking for. That's what John does pretty much every day... turns themes and bigger trends into specific trades.
Well, the day wasn't terrible, but it sure wasn't a great one. Worse, the NASDAQ's measurable loss finally pulled it below a semi-important support level, and put it within reach of a major support area we've talked about a couple of times of late. We're still holding above that make-or-break floor, but it's not too soon to start making some plans in case thing turn a little uglier.
Good afternoon, friends and fellow traders. How was your weekend? In light of what the market did today, I suppose we can all agree we'd wished the weekend would have lasted one more day. Then again, all the major indices are still holding above their most critical lines in the sand, so we still have just as much of a chance at coming out of the stall pointed in a bullish direction as we have at coming out of it in a bearish direction.
We'll look at the whole shebang in a moment, along with a couple of other things, but there's something else worth a look first... something that'll get your blood boiling one way or another.
I'm exactly 0% surprised the market ended up essentially breaking even today (the S&P 500 gained a whopping 0.10 points to close at 2091.58). Nobody really knows what to make of the market right now, and that's showing in every possible way. It's also a big part of the reason there's no need to make any major commitment to one side of the market or the other right now.
And yet, maybe we should be a little more bullish than we've been seeing things of late.
Ugh. This market. Although we can't say we were surprised stocks peeled back today (in light of yesterday's analysis), I suppose in some ways we were hoping to be wrong about our read on the clues we had in hand at the time.
On the other hand, we may still be wrong yet... and glad to be so. Today's dip didn't pull the major stock indices under any critical support levels, and we may be able to rekindle the rally yet. I'm not especially hopeful though. Let's just start there today.
In any case, a bunch of you who've been following our saga of aluminum and coal have been asking how to turn those industry suggestions into a specific trade. The answer is, it depends.