Closing Technical Market Comments for Tue Feb 20, 2007
Positive Session To Start the Week!
By Harry Boxer, TheTechTrader.com (www.thetechtrader.com)
The indices had another positive session and closed not far off the highs for the day, although they started out much differently.
The day began with a small gap down. They ran sharply lower in the morning and took out Thursday’s and Friday’s lows on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100. But they managed to stabilize, and then turned around sharply and rallied very strongly all morning and into the lunch hour. At that point they consolidated, but the pullback looked like a corrective one, and it certainly turned out to be, as they broke out & made higher highs in the afternoon.
The Dow reached just under 12,800, closing at 12,787, up 19 ½. The S&P 500 tagged 1460, closing at 1459.70, up 4.15, and the Nasdaq 100 was up 12.22, which was 25 points off the high, so a sharp reversal there. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) turned around 7 ½ points and closed up 1.29 on the day.
So it was a very positive recovery from what looked like an ominous beginning.
The technicals confirmed the day, with advance-declines positive by 5 to 3 on New York and by 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was about 8 to 5 positive on New York with a little less than $1.3 billion traded. Nasdaq traded more than 2.15 billion with a better than 3 to 1 positive ratio on up/down volume.
TheTechTrader.com board was very strong today, with quite a few stocks on our board up more than a point. They were led by VASCO Data Security (VDSI), one of our former Charts of the Week and portfolio positions, which exploded after a very positive earnings report, up 3.32 on more than 5 million shares, a gain of more than 21 percent today
Other stocks of note, a stock we traded several times today, Empire Resorts (NYNY), on approval of a new casino, jumped 2.63 on 6.6 million shares, a gain of 26 ½ percent.
Low-priced biotech Cleveland Bio (CBLI) was up 1.77 on more than ½ million traded. Sigma Designs (SIGM) jumped 1.30 on more than 2/3 million. ONXX continued last week’s strong advance, up another 1.28 on 9.6 million.
Home Inns & Hotels (HMIN) snapped back 1.84 to 46.30. Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR) continued its strong advance of the last several days, up 79 cents. Anadigics (ANAD), a recent Chart of the Week, was up 72 cents. Chinese biotech American Oriental Bioengineering (AOB) was up 77 cents. GigaMedia (GIGM) advanced 99 cents on 3 million, and Gmarket (GMKT) snapped back 98 cents on under 1 million.
Radio Shack (RSH) reached another new 52-week high, up 57 cents, and Research Frontiers (REFR) advanced 58 cents.
Nuance Communications (NUAN) advanced 54 cents, tagging 15 for the first time in seven years, and Qiao Xing Universal Telephone (XING) reached up near 20, closing at 19.56, up 30 cents today.
On the downside, the sole point-plus loser was Global Sources (GSOL), which continued its recent weakness and pulled back to under 17, closing at 16.84, down 1.10.
Other than that, most other stocks on our board were just fractionally lower if they were down at all. These included Medialink (MDLK), which pulled back 33 cents, and Fuel Tech (FTEK), down 45 cents.
Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, new 6 ½-year highs on the S&P, all-time highs on the Dow and 4-week highs on the NDX were the results of today’s action, as Nasdaq creeps higher towards its multi-year highs set in early January up in the 1847 area, just 14 points from here. It’ll be important to get that to move higher and confirm the other indices, and continue this tremendous rally we’ve had for the last several months.
But it was a good way to start the week for sure.
Good trading!
Harry
For more of Harry Boxer, sign up for a FREE 15-Day Trial to his Real-Time Technical Trading Diary. Or sign up for a Free 30-Day Trial to his Top Charts of the Week service.
