Crude oil is pushing back to its highest levels since September's drone attacks in Saudi Arabia. Energy stocks are following. The sector's the worst performer by far on a year-to-date basis. But in the last two weeks, the SPDR Energy Fund is leading all the other major SPDR tracking funds.
Chevron is the second-biggest company in XLE behind Exxon Mobil ....
Industrial stocks have come to life since early October as investors look for the economy to recover from the U.S. – China trade war. Now one of the biggest and most liquid names in the entire sector is rebounding from a pullback, and a classic bull-flag continuation pattern may be taking shape.
General Electric reported a potentially transformative quarter on...
Chip stocks are the best performing major industry group so far this year, and Applied Materials has been one of the strongest in the index. The provider of semiconductor equipment has scored double beats (earnings and revenue) all four quarters of 2020. AMAT spiked to a new record high above $63 after its last report in mid-November, followed by a pullback into...
Tesla is the best performer in the Nasdaq-100 over the last three months, up more than 40%. The big rally came on signs the electric car maker has finally corrected its manufacturing problems. That reduced bankruptcy/credit risks. More importantly, it cut the need for raising more capital via dilutive stock offerings. The result was a big short squeeze that...
Electronics chain Best Buy has been working hard not to become a dinosaur in the retail ecosystem. Following the model of larger rivals like Wal-Mart Stores and Target , BBY has used new services like product support and in-store pickup to keep shoppers in its locations.
The change worked last quarter, driving the stock decisively above $78 for the first time in...
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100 broke out more than a month ago, while the Russell 2000 small-cap index has lagged. Normally traders like to focus on the outperforming areas but IWM’s technicals may have something in their favor.
The $158 level was resistance for IWM starting in September 2018. That marked the top of the channel at least four times since...
Alphabet may be attempting a quiet breakout. The parent of Google and YouTube snuck to new all-time highs earlier in the month, pulled back and is now bouncing.
But GOOGL isn’t not just bouncing. It held the same 1290-1295 zone that marked the peaks in July 2018 and last April. If that old resistance becomes support and there isn’t a deeper pullback, buyers...
United Parcel Service has been adapting to the new digital landscape. And now it's bouncing at a potentially key level right before the holiday-shopping/holiday-shipping season.
UPS had a monster rally in July after shifting to next-day delivery services. That business line continued to grow 24 percent last quarter, although the stock fell on weak profit and the...
Gold and gold miners like Newmont rallied over the summer when interest rates crashed. But they’ve staggered since early September and now NEM is showing some potentially bearish signals.
First, NEM wasn’t able to get back above its old highs from early 2018. Second, it’s been consolidating below both its 50- and 100-day simple moving averages. Third, it had a...
Energy has lagged all year but it’s flashing some potentially bullish signals recently.
While everyone has focused on China and tariffs, crude oil futures are headed for a bullish outside week. Meanwhile there’s growing talk that OPEC will extend its production cuts at the next meeting December 5-6. Remember the Saudis want to list shares of their Saudi Aramco...
Big lenders like Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase had blistering rallies in October and early November as investors rotated to value stocks and looked for higher interest rates. But now those hopes are fading and BAC is potentially stalling.
Some warning signs may be appearing on the BAC chart. First, its MACD has crossed to the downside. Second, it’s now...
The market saw a big shift in early September when money started pouring into “value” stocks, like banks and energy. Investors had neglected them for years and they were supposed to benefit from the U.S. and China ending their trade war. But that’s been fading in recent weeks, especially with Apple and Microsoft flying to new highs.
This hourly chart compares...
The world’s biggest coffee chain had a monster run in the first half, ripping from the mid 60s to a few cents from $100. It got a little frothy and had to pull back, but now it’s perked at the 200-day moving average and the buyers may be lining back up.
The company had a double-shot of strong earnings reports in July and October thanks to a winning blend of...
Mastercard and Visa have been two of the workhorse names in this long-running bull market. Both have been classic “secular” growth names, riding the spread of digital payments across the globe. The trend has been strong but analysts don’t see it stopping any time soon.
They’re exactly the kind of firms highlighted in William O’Neil’s classic book How the Make...
Believe it or not, housing is one of the strongest parts of the market in 2019 -- rivaling only semiconductors. Low interest rates and a lack of inventories are helping fuel the move.
The next week is big for the industry, with NAHB's sentiment index, housing starts and existing-home sales all due. Home Depot also reports earnings on Tuesday, followed one day...
Netflix has struggled for most of 2019 and now it faces the Disney+ challenge going into yearend. So far, the Magic Kingdom’s new streaming service, backed by one of the richest content libraries anywhere, has already garnered more than 10 million subscribers.
Meanwhile, the NFLX chart is showing some potential risks. It’s rebounded weakly since late September,...
Apple has been ripping thanks to strong demand for its iPhone 11. The move began in early October after suppliers reported a surge of orders. Then AAPL reported strong quarterly results on October 30 as users fell in love with wearable devices and signed up for new services.
But has the good news been priced in for now? Some chart studies show AAPL is potentially...
Facebook was trapped under $190 for almost all of August, all of September and all of October. But it broke out of the channel thanks to strong earnings two weeks ago. Now it’s pulled back and is holding that breakout point.
FB has churned for more than a year as CEO Mark Zuckerberg deals will legal issues and pushes new services like Stories and Instagram....
