A Relatively Prompt Time to Reassess

The FOMC Minutes just came out, a bit more hawkish than expected as several members wanted a “relatively prompt” hike in interest rates. Overall, though, Yellen and the Fed seem to be waiting on more data first before acting (see story here).

The initial move in stocks was mildly lower, though we have not seen fireworks yet, as dip-buyers are working on trying to swoop in here. Before the Minutes, I locked in a few small winners on the long side inside 12631.

Macro aside, the market has been mixed and sluggish for a while now, on the whole. A name like YELP is displaying good relative strength, while other marquee issues have been in a hurry to do a whole lot of nothing.

While the major averages are either mildly green or only slightly red, the small and micro cap indices are again lagging noticeably today.

After trading some modest winners on the long side this week, this seems to be a relatively prompt time to reassess.

While not flashy to the upside, I took part of my GPRO long off for about a 5% win inside 12631 earlier today.

The stock could easily squeeze higher yet. But the FOMC Minutes are coming up, and my FB UA longs are underwhelming me at this point.

As I write this, volatility is taking a dive intraday, creating the quintessential lazy summer trading day. At least before the Minutes, that is.

Commodities are slippery, still, and failing to hold much strength.

Keep an eye on that JD long idea now that it seems to be holding over $30.70.
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Courtesy of The PPT algorithm, here are the most current top five readings from my “12631 RELATIVE STRENGTH” custom-made screen, identifying which stocks are exuding some of the best performances to the market at-large at any given moment.

I look for stocks whose Daily PPT Hybrid Score surges, while the Weekly Hybrid has been negative over the past week. This can often yield stocks which are emerging from consolidations.

Members can click here to view and save the screen.

Sorted for at least 500,000 shares of daily average volume to ensure liquidity.

Please click on image to enlarge.

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Keep an eye on  the UVXY, the levered volatility ETF, over $24.37 today in case we get a spike lower in the tape after the FOMC Minutes.

While I am not a fan of getting too technical on these instruments, you can see the well-defined level on the intraday chart, below.

What are you trading this morning?

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We have a bit of a lull in the market this morning, with the FOMC Minutes released later today on a lag from the last meeting.

Given how extended the Nasdaq is, I am strongly considering flattening out altogether and reassessing after the face. The action, however resilient it may be, is still not that of a broad-based, high energy tape.

That can change quickly, however, especially after the Minutes are released, perhaps acting as an excuse rather than a catalyst for the next big market move.

A few long ideas on strength: FB JD TWTR UA WWE

Short ideas on weakness: I ICE LVS MGM WYNN XOM 

The following is just a small excerpt from my latest Weekly Strategy Session (please click on that hyperlink for details about trying it out). which I published for members and 12631 subscribers this past Sunday.

At this stage in the bull market we continue to see a relative uptick in mergers and acquisitions. 

A firm such as The WhiteWave Foods Company is not only impressive in terms of their product lines, focusing on almond, soy, and coconut milk and creamers, but the technicals for the stock’s chart are also stout.

On the weekly timeframe, note the strong, steady uptrend which could easily be poised to break higher yet.

Keep this one on your radar for both a technical long, as well as a viable buyout candidate by a larger food company looking to diversify into growing, healthier foods.

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