Netflix has drifted in a frustrating way for months. But now it could be setting up for a gap fill with earnings due this afternoon. NFLX began the year by finding support at its 200-day simple moving average (SMA). This represents a potentially significant change in character from July, when the same line was resistance. Traders may now be able to use the old...
The major indexes have been rallying to new highs, but one of the most important companies in the market hasn't participated: Amazon.com . The e-commerce giant spiked the day after Christmas thanks to news of a " record-breaking " holiday season. That ended a three-month imprisonment below its 200-day simple moving average (SMA). It also established AMZN back...
The stock market's been undeniably strong, but energy has been the weakest link. Of the 11 major sectors, energy remains at or near the bottom of the rankings. (It's also the only one under its 200-day SMA) The S&P Oil & Gas Exploration ETF is a heavily traded name within the broader energy space. It averages almost 2x more options on a daily basis than...
Gold miners have been consolidating for the last six months and now the Market Vectors Gold Miner ETF is bouncing at a potentially key level. GDX peaked around $28 between late October and mid-December. It then broke out and has now pulled back to find support at the old resistance. There's also some confluence with the 50- and 100-day simple moving averages...
By TradeStation Crypto Bitcoin is hitting a two-month high today as it breaks out of a tight bullish triangle that formed in the last week. But now that it's moving and MACD is ramping, how far can it go? Let's go to the triangle on the weekly chart: The drop between late June and mid-November brought BTCUSD from $13,880 to $7,146. A basic technique of...
Video-game maker Take-Two Interactive traded in a very tight range since October. But now it's broken above that channel and is potentially finding support at its old resistance around $125. TTWO, owner of titles like NBA2K, is a classic growth stock -- the same kind of company that's come back into favor recently as the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates...
Tesla's been riding one of the most powerful short squeezes in recent history, more than doubling in short order. Its last earnings report in October was the spark because the electric-car maker finally overcame big manufacturing problems. While its popular vehicles were never an issue, logistics and manufacturing were an Achilles heel. Now that they're fixed,...
Tractor maker Deere might be setting up for a breakout as the U.S. and China move toward a trade deal. DE has been consolidating in an extremely tight range for the last four weeks. It's pressed against near-term resistance around $177. Meanwhile the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) has squeezed up from below as support. The company's backward-looking...
Banks ended 2019 on a strong note as gloom toward the economy lifted and investors started to appreciate their low valuations. Now a key exchange-traded fund has pulled back to a potentially important level: The SPDR Regional Bank ETF . KRE is holding the same $57 area where it peaked in February and November. The 50-day simple moving average (SMA) has also...
Biotechnology stocks surged in the fourth quarter thanks to some takeovers and buyers returning to the health-care sector. Amgen is the biggest of all the biotechs with $144 billion of market cap. It's also one of the few big names that's broken out to new highs. (Along with Vertex .) AMGN's been climbing a wall of worry about competition since the summer....
Salesforce.com is a classic growth stock, with high multiples but also steady expansion of its products over time. It's exactly the kind of company cited by William O'Neil in How to Make Money in Stocks . That classic trading book teaches readers about the "cup and handle" pattern that often occurs in secular-growth stocks. It's a high basing formation...
President Trump's trade war against China was one of the dominant stories in financial markets over the course of 2019. But now an important currency is moving as it fades: the Chinese yuan. This chart shows the U.S. dollar against the yuan, so price drops are bullish for the Chinese currency. It shows the yuan has been gaining against the greenback since early...
Unless you've been asleep like Snow White for the last year, you've probably heard about the Disney+ . Walt Disney's new streaming-video service surprised everyone last month by adding over 10 million subscribers in its first two days. That drove the Magic Kingdom to new record highs above $150, followed by a pullback and three weeks of consolidation. The ...
Online payments giant PayPal gapped higher on a strong earnings report in late October. It had plenty of downward momentum at the time, and some resistance points around $108 prevented much follow-through. PYPL also slammed into its 200-day simple moving average (SMA) and a declining 50-day SMA. But that was then, and this is now. Has the stock paid its dues as...
Emerging markets and global stocks have roared to life at the end of 2019. The reasons are a dovish Federal Reserve , which drives buyers away from the U.S. dollar , and calming tensions between the U.S. and China. Brexit clarity has helped too. Along with China, Brazil is the most actively traded emerging market. Its iShares MSCI Brazil ETF has even...
Cybersecurity innovator FireEye has been trying to stage a turnaround in the last few months. The stock went through years of weakness after a high-profile IPO in 2013, but new products have helped drive growth more recently. Takeover speculation initially lifted FEYE in early October. This was followed by an apparently promising analyst day on October 10 ...
It's hard to say which traditional big-box is doing a better job adapting to the digital age: Wal-Mart Stores or Target . Both have successfully used online strategies to keep shoppers in their brick-and-mortar locations. That's helped avoid the kind of painful downsizing sweeping other retailers. It's paid off recently for WMT, which beat profit estimates ...
Lots of things are happening on the chart with oil refiner Valero Energy . 1) VLO had a Golden Cross pattern in late October, with its 50-day SMA rising above the 200-day SMA. 2) In recent weeks, it pulled back to find support at its old resistance zone between $92 and $94. That goes back to October 2018 and April 2019. 3) VLO has also remained near its 50-day...