Stocks opened with a tinge of caution amid concerns that quarterly results may not live up to expectations, but broad-based profit taking maintained a bearish bias all day and prevented the indices from ever recovering... A disappointment from Alcoa (AA 29.77 -0.70), which kicked off the Q4 earnings season, spurred the first batch of uncertainty while several pre-announcements in the tech sector essentially confirmed that a deceleration in growth may be forthcoming... While analysts have been expecting Q4 earnings growth for the S&P of about 16%, relatively in line with EPS growth in Q3, buyers remained hesitant all day and waited for potentially encouraging earnings and/or guidance to come out of Intel (INTC 22.54 -0.34) after the bell... Meanwhile, virtually every sector closed lower... Technology was down across the board, with semiconductor (-2.5%) directing the downward surge on the heels of Advanced Micro Devices' (AMD 14.81 -5.32) Q4 sales warning (ahead of Intel's quarterly results) and a gross margin pre-announcement from STMicroelectronics (STM 17.78 -0.78)... Computer hardware (-1.6%) was also under pressure after Apple Computer (AAPL 66.13 -2.83) failed to deliver "big" enough news regarding the number of iPods (4.5 mln) sold during the 2004 holiday season to reignite buying interest... Also losing more than 1.0% were networking, materials, brokerage and biotech, with the latter trading lower after Genentech (DNA 52.09 -2.34) missed Q4 (Dec) earnings by a penny and was subsequently downgraded... Energy showed relative strength much of the day, as crude oil ($45.68/bbl +$0.35) closed at a three-week high amid continued concerns about storm-related disruptions in the North Sea, but still closed slightly lower... Managed healthcare (+0.2%), which extended 1.9% gains, was just one of a few areas finding enough buying interest to keep it in positive territory... Bonds inched higher, pushing the 10-year note up 7 ticks to yield 4.24%, getting a lift from falling stock prices and renewed weakness in the greenback... The dollar fell against the euro (1.3115) and the yen (103.38) following downbeat remarks from ECB Chief Economist Issing regarding the US current account deficit and exchange rate issues in Asia... Also benefiting from weakness in the dollar ahead of trade figures were gold futures, which closed at a four-session high, up 0.6% at $422.40 per ounce...NYSE Adv/Dec 1203/2119...NASDAQ Adv/Dec 956/2162.
1.
KBH - Kb Home
| Entry Date |
Exit Date |
Position |
Entry Price |
Target Price |
Stop Price |
Max P/L |
| 01-12 |
|
Long |
Above 15 high |
Sell 1/2 once risk covered |
Below LOD at time of setup |
|
|
* Please Note: If the stock gaps down at the open do not enter the trade unless it trades above 103.98
|
2.
CMX - Caremark Rx
| Entry Date |
Exit Date |
Position |
Entry Price |
Target Price |
Stop Price |
Max P/L |
| 01-12 |
|
Long |
Above 15 high |
Sell 1/2 once risk covered |
Below LOD at time of setup |
|
|
* Please Note: If the stock gaps down at the open do not enter the trade unless it trades above 42.30
|
3.
CREE - Cree
| Entry Date |
Exit Date |
Position |
Entry Price |
Target Price |
Stop Price |
Max P/L |
| 01-12 |
|
Short |
Below 15 min low |
Cover 1/2 once risk covered |
Above HOD at time of setup |
|
|
* Please Note: If the stock gaps up at the open do not enter the trade unless it trades below 32.35
|
4.
FRE - Freddie Mac
| Entry Date |
Exit Date |
Position |
Entry Price |
Target Price |
Stop Price |
Max P/L |
| 01-12 |
|
Short |
Below 15 min low |
Cover 1/2 once risk covered |
Above HOD at time of setup |
|
|
* Please Note: If the stock gaps up at the open do not enter the trade unless it trades below 70.95
|
5.
DOW - Dow Chemical
| Entry Date |
Exit Date |
Position |
Entry Price |
Target Price |
Stop Price |
Max P/L |
| 01-12 |
|
Short |
Below 15 min low |
Cover 1/2 once risk covered |
Above HOD at time of setup |
|
|
* Please Note: If the stock gaps up at the open do not enter the trade unless it trades below 47.63
|
==============================
EOD = End of day.
LOD = Low of day.
PDC = Previous Day's Close.
S/R = Support/Resistance.
==============================
DISCLAIMER: Trading in securities may not be suitable for all individuals.
Consult your broker or other professional to determine your suitability.
The discussions provided by Day Trading It are for educational purposes
only and should not be taken as a recommendation to buy or sell the
referenced security. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Please keep in mind that these picks are chosen up to 12 hours before the markets open. During this time conditions, which will effect entry and exit on the above listed ideas, may change.
