Stock Market Early Morning Insights – October 6, 2016

Yesterday was a strong day initially for the NASDAQ composite, but strength faded as the day progressed. The NASDAQ only managed to close at 44.71% of its daily range. The S&P 400 mid-cap and the S&P 600 small-cap indexes also sold off in the afternoon as short-term traders took their profits before the upcoming jobs report on Friday.

Volume was lighter than normal for the NASDAQ composite but was above average for the S&P 400 and the S&P 600 which generated volume Pocket Pivots. Crude light futures moved higher which gave a boost to oil related stocks. Exploration and Production stocks were one of the dominant groups in the Stocks and Groups Moving to the Upside SmartGroup. Semiconductor Devices were strong again along with Biotech and Specialty Pharma stocks. REITs and Utility stocks dominated the stocks and groups moving down, and Precious Metals and Mining stocks were weak once again.

Gold futures tried to rally during the day, but failed and are weak again this morning. Crude light futures are up again this morning with the current price level just above the top of the W formation which would confirm a breakout. Crude light futures are currently trading at $50.07 as I write this.

Many stocks that looked promising early yesterday morning faded as profit-taking set in during the afternoon hours. It was another whipsaw day for the NASDAQ as we went from a down day on Tuesday to an up day yesterday. This makes for a very tough market to trade for swing traders because initial momentum fades as short-term traders take profits rather than waiting around to see if momentum continues.

This morning, stock index futures are slightly lower, and the indexes may do very little today as traders are reluctant to establish new positions with the jobs report looming tomorrow. I remain neutral to slightly bullish on the indexes.
Here are four stocks you may want to consider for your watch list. AMKR, STLM, NPTN, and BLCM. All come from a screen I am working on for a webinar series I am going to begin around November 1.

I hope all of our friends on the East Coast of Florida stay out of harm’s way..

STOCK MARKET EARLY MORNING INSIGHTS

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