Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Stock Market Commentary:

The major averages ended lower after a lousy report from the housing market was released and several large cap technology stocks got smacked. Volume totals were reported mixed; slightly lower on the NYSE and higher on the Nasdaq exchange compared to the prior session. Decliners led advancers by almost a 2-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by over a 2-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq exchange. New 52-week highs easily outnumbered new 52-week lows on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq exchange. There were 41 high-ranked companies from the CANSLIM.net Leaders List made a new 52-week high and appeared on the CANSLIM.net BreakOuts Page, lower than the 81 issues that appeared on the prior session.

Gold Surges To Record High and Home Prices Fall:

Overnight, gold surged to a fresh record high as the US Dollar continued its two week decline. At 10:00AM EST, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released its House Price Index (HPI) which showed home prices continued to fall. The HPI mainly covers single-family homes using data provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The report fell -0.5% in July after falling a revised -1.2% in June. The decline was largely due to the now-expired tax credit.

Two Tech Giants Get Smacked:

Tech giants, Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE -19.03%) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT -2.15%) gapped down on heavy volume which dragged other stocks lower. Adobe shed a whopping –19% and fell to a fresh 52-week low, which was its largest single day decline in eight years. The stock got smacked after reporting weaker-than-expected quarterly results. Meanwhile, Microsoft fell after its dividend increase was lower than some analysts expected.

Market Action- Confirmed Rally

The action since this rally was confirmed on the September 1, 2010 follow-through day (FTD) has been strong. Looking forward, the window is open for disciplined investors to carefully buy high-ranked stocks, while many pundits are expecting that markets may consolidate following recent gains. It was very encouraging to see the major averages and several leading stocks break above stubborn resistance levels and continue marching higher. All the major averages had recently rallied above their respective 200-day moving average (DMA) lines, a clear sign that the overall market is in healthier shape. Now that the summer highs have been exceeded, the next important resistance levels for the major averages are their respective April highs.