Week Ahead for Stocks, March 30 – April 3, 2009

Weekly Recap (March 16 – 20, 2009): Stocks made some historic progress …. gained for three weeks in a row, the largest move since 1938.  It was a huge 3-week rally.  However, markets stuttered a little bit on Friday heading into the weekend mostly from profit taking.

On Friday, the Dow fell by 148 points or 1.9% to end at 7776.  The S&P 500 fell 16 points or 2% to end at 815, while the Nasdaq lost 41 points or 2.6% to end at 1,545.

Index	Started Week	Ended Week	Change	% Change	YTD %
DJIA	7278.38	7776.18	497.80	6.8	-11.4
Nasdaq	1457.27	1545.20	87.93	6.0	-2.0
S&P 500	768.54	815.94	47.40	6.2	-9.7

For the week, the Dow rallied 6.8%, the S&P 500 gained 6.2% and the Nasdaq rose 6%.  For the month so far, the Dow is up 10.1%, the S&P is up 11% and the Nasdaq added 12.2%.  The S&P 500 is now up 22.4% from its March 6 low of 666.8 points.

The bulk of the gains however were made on Monday with the major indices gaining over around 6% on the news of Treasury Dept releasing details on its plan to remove troubled assets from the balance sheets of banks.The gains continued, albeit modestly through rest of the week, building on some better than expected data from the housing sector, February durable goods, and final 4th quarter GDP.

Believe it or nor, the treasury auctions usually a non-market event, turned out to be a major market mover this week due to some saber rattling by China by its negative comments on US debt.

Tim Geithner and Ben Bernanke appeared before Congress during the week.  Geithner also appeared on Sunday morning media circuit touting administration’s ideas and plans to jump start the economy.  Geithner is looking more and more confident, and markets are slowly warming up to the new Treasury secretary.

In the end, all ten sectors posted solid gains for the week.  Financials advanced 12.2% , industrials gained 10.5% and consumer discretionary advanced 8.8%.

TaurusTrader had a phenomenal week.  Seven positions in the swing portfolio achieved profit targets, ranging from 8.6 to 47.4%.  The positions that hit profit target, hence closed were – TCK, MELI, BMC, RY, CPRT, BX, and WSM.  Also, the April 12.50 call option in WDC (WDCDV) was also closed netting 100% profit. Please refer to my earlier posts for details.  None were stopped out.  TaurusTrader also had several successful day trade opportunities for 2 to 5% profit per trade in several recommended equities – FAS, MS, WFC, TNA, and BAC.

At the end of the week, TaurusTrader was long in – WNR, AGU, AMR, MBT, FCN, MDR, HNT, RIO, HON and BAC.

Week Ahead, March 30 – April 03, 2009: Markers are in oversold condition. Some pull back is possible, especially at the opening on Monday.  Like in previous weeks, markets will mostly be driven by news coming out of DC on auto industry bailout and banking regulations.   The G-20 meeting of finance ministers on April 2 is another media event that could have some impact on currencies.  We may need to keep an eye on how the bond and treasury auctions go. There will  be a hearing on mark to market accounting which could impact the markets.  Fed Chair, Ben Bernanke and Vice Chair Don Kohn are scheduled to speak on Friday in separate events.  On the earnings front, 52 companies are scheduled to report this week – the last week before the “official” start of 1st quarter earnings.  Some important reports that I would be watching are:

• Monday:  CALM, LAYN, SNP, CHT
  
• Tuesday: APOL, BGP, GIGM, LEN, SAH
  
• Wednesday: WOR
• Thursday: AYI, MDRX, LNN, MU, MON, RIMM
• Friday:  AZZ
  

For details on earnings calendar, please visit: http://www.zacks.com/commentary/10445/Earnings+Preview+for+Mar+30+-+Apr+3

Economic Calendar: Following economic news might have impact on the markets –

For details, please refer to:   http://online.barrons.com/public/page/barrons_econoday.html

• Monday: None
• Tuesday: 1) 9:00 am, Mar. Consumer confidence (27.0 up from 25.0);  2)  9:00 am, Jan. S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, (unchanged -18.5%);   3) 9:45 am,  Mar. Chicago PMI (34.7, up from 34.2);
• Wednesday: 1) 8:15 am, ADP employment change; 2) 10:00 am, Feb. Construction Spending (-1.6% up from -3.3%);  3) 10:00 am, Mar. ISM index (36.5 up from 35.8)   4) 10:00 a.m. Feb.  pending Home sales (-2.0% vs -7.7%);   5) 10:30 am, US Energy Dept Oil Inventories For Mar 27;  6) 2:00 pm. Mar. Auto sales.
• Thursday: 1) 8:30 a.m. Initial Jobless Claims For Mar 28 Week;  2) 10:00 am, Feb. factory Orders (-0.3% vs -1.9%;
• Friday: 1) 8:30 am, Mar. Av. work week (33.3 unch.); 2) 8:30 am. Mar. Hourly earning (0.2% unch.);  3) 8:30 am, Non-farm payroll (650 K); 4) 8:30 am, Mar. Unemployment rate (8.5% vs 8.1%); and 4) 10:00 am, Mar. ISM services index (42 vs 41.6).

Picks for Monday, March 30: The big question on every ones mind on Monday would be “whether the rally of the past 3-weeks is real, can I jump in or wait on the side lines”.  No major economic data or earnings releases are slated for Monday.  So, it would be somewhat challenging to predict how the markets would react.  I thought  Geithner did OK with his media appearances over the weekend.  But, it may not be enough to move the markets.  I’m going to wait it out.  I’ll not have any picks for Monday for our swing portfolio.  I’ll watch my positions with tight stops.

I will keep the following stocks on my radar through out the week for possible inclusion in swing portfolio or for day trading opportunities:

ORLY, NFLX, DRYS, DSX, IPI, MOS, MON, RIMM, AXP, BWLD, AMZN, WDC, MELI, FAS, WFC, BAC, MTH, IYT, COV, HUM, DE, ARO, FOSL, and GME.  Also, Gold (GLD, DZZ or DGP) and Gold mining stocks (XME, GOLD, AUY).  I expect some accelerated “directional” movement to occur with Gold and Gold related stocks in the next few days.

As in past few weeks, I expect considerable volatility associated with financial stocks.  So, I’ll be looking at the following for day trade opportunities:  FAS, WFC, BAC, and MS.

If there are questions or comments, please do post …..

Have a great week and happy trading.

TaurusTrader

http://www.taurustrader.wordpress.com

Stocks to Watch for Friday, March 27, 2009

Thursday’s Recap:  Another great day at the market!  All three major indices finished solidly positive.  Dow ended the day up 175 points to its highest level in six weeks.  Dow has gained nearly 21% since close to hitting a 12-year low on March 9.  Nasdaq has now erased all losses for 2009 and is now back in black.  AMAZING!  Dow, however is still down 9.7% for the year.

Mainly 3 factors contributed to today’s rally. 1) Better than expected earnings and future guidance by retail giant BBY, food processor CAG, and soft drink company DPS – relaying the fact that the consumer spending is still intact, 2) Contrary to yesterday’s disappointing auction, today’s auctioning on long term debt was received with enthusiasm, lifting the fear  about the government’s ability to fund its economic stimulus and financial bailout programs, and 3) shorts got squeezed and forced to cover some of their positions.  Stocks have been aggressively shorted during the market decline  and the short interest had risen 11% by mid March.  Enormous amount of sideline money is slowly venturing to get back in to the buying mode.

Economic data (GDP and unemployment) were not great, but the numbers came within forecast.  Hence, did not have major impact on markets. Tim Geithner appeared very confident and handled questions with ease in his testimony to the house finance committee.  Markets and for that matter the congress, are becoming comfortable with our new treasury secretary.

When the closing bell rang, the Dow had gained 175 or 2.3% for the day and it closed at 7925, its highest close since February 12.   The S&P500 index rose 19 points or 2.3%, to 833, and the Nasdaq rose 58 points or 3.8%, to 1587.  Gold prices also rose modestly.  Oil reached a new high for the year, settling up $1.58 at $54.34 a barrel.

Today’s gains were widespread as all 10 major sectors in the S&P 500 closed the session higher. Contrary to recent form, the gains came without leadership from the financial sector.   The dollar is stabilizing and it rose marginally against other major currencies.  This brings to the comments I made last Thursday, when dollar took a dive after fed announced a trillion dollar infusion to bolster economy.  Here is what I said: 

Is Dollar Worry Over Blown? –  ……. In my opinion, the dollar related reaction to fed decision is a little over done.  US economy is still the strongest economy in the world despite all our problems.  Dollar is still the dominant currency.  People who are squabbling over greenback, should just look back a little.  Just 6 months ago, EUR/USD pair was trading at over 1.60.  Now, when it jumped from 1.30 to 1.35 or so, all hell breaks loose!  ………………………  So, relax folks.  A slight decline in dollar is not the end of the world as the dooms day pundits like Larry Kudlow and his friends on CNBC rant about.  The dollar is already stabilizing against the Euro and Yen as I write this blog around mid night.

That was last Thursday …. Friends, how true that statement turned out to be.  … PATIENCE …. Patience is what we need to navigate this market.  Do your home work and do not be swayed by hype!!

TaurusTrader swing portfolio had a superb day.  MELI was closed out for 13.5% profit in two days.  All positions, except BAC advanced.  TCK. MBT and WNR are very close to hitting their profit target. 

It was not a bad day for day trading.   There were opportunities to trade for 3 to 5% profit with  TNA.  Rest of the picks did not pan out well.  As discussed before, I use 10-min chart to determine entry and exit points.

Picks for Friday, March 27:  President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner will be meeting with banking industry CEOs to discuss on banking crisis, bailout money, toxic assets, and regulations, etc.  Any post meeting snippets from participants may have some impact on financial sector stocks.  Friday’s economic data releases include, Personal Income ( Expected: -0.2%), Personal Spending (Expected: +0.3%), and U Mich Sentiment Index (Expected: 57). 

Even though I’m very tempted, I do not want to add any new position to swing portfolio.  The current portfolio of 11 stocks is well diversified, and a few positions are very close to hitting profit target.  So, I’ll wait till next Monday or Tuesday to add new positions.

For day trading, I’ll focus on financial, technology, energy, ag and commodity sectors for trading opportunities.  Some of the specific stocks that I would be following are – FAS, TNA, DUG, MOS, and JOYG.

If there are questions or comments, please do post. 

If you are interested in receiving my posts directly via email, please email me at –  TAURUSTRADER@SBCGLOBAL.NET  or click on the ‘comments’ below to request.  I can do the rest!!

Happy trading ….

TaurusTrader

http://www.taurustrader.wordpress.com

The Week Ahead – March 23 – 27, 2009

Weekly Recap (March 16 – 20, 2009):  Even though markets sputtered to a whimper toward the end of the week, major indices gained for two weeks in a row which hadn’t happened in a while.  For the week, Dow eked out a 0.8% gain to close at 7278, where as, S&P and Nasdaq gained a modest 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively.  S&P made a strong attempt to break 800 point barrier and the 50 day MA, but did not succeed and closed at 769.  Similarly, Nasdaq also mounted a valiant crack at 1500 and the 50 day MA, but unable to hold either and closed at 1457.  The 50 day MA is serving as a major overhead resistance for all three indices. 

Concern about massive deficit from excessive spending to tackle the financial crises and to prop up the economy by the new administration appeared to hurt the market sentiments.  Inflationary worries dragged the dollar lower against major currencies.  Commodities mounted a huge rally with CRB index gaining over 7.1% for the week.  Crude oil gained 10.7% and vaulted to $52.07 at the closing on Friday’s trading.  Gold gained 2.4% ($952.3 per oz) as traders bought gold as a hedge against anticipatory inflationary pressure.

TaurusTrader swing portfolio had a mixed week.  WFC achieved the target and was closed for a nice 15% profit in 3 days.  None were stopped out, but a couple of stocks came very close to being stopped out.  At the end of the week, the swing portfolio was long in 13 positions, out of which 9 had unrealized gains (TCK, RY, MBT, BX, MDR, CPRT, WDCDV, BMC and WSM)  and 4 had some losses (WNR, AGU, AMR and FCN). 

CPRT, MBT, RY and BMC came within just a few cents of reaching the profit target before retracing …. ouch!!

Week Ahead, March 23 -27, 2009:  It will be a very crucial week for the markets.  Actions coming out of Washington will greatly influence the market direction.  There’s a big struggle going on between Wall-street and Washington.  Unless this struggle is resolved, and mutual trust restored, the choppiness of the market will continue.  As individual traders, we can’t influence either, and it is frustrating.  But, what we can do is be vigilant and very reactive (not proactive) with out trades.

Treasury will be laying out its private-public partnership program to rescue the financial markets tomorrow (Monday) morning.  This announcement will dictate the market direction at least for all of next week.  It is hard to predict how the markets will react, but the anticipation is high.  As I write this blog past midnight , the Asian markets are up in anticipation of a positive proposal by Tim Geithner.

On the earnings front, just 58 companies are scheduled to report this week.  Some important reports that I would be watching are:

• Monday:  FMCN, PVH, SONC, TIF, and WAG
• Tuesday: CCL, CMC, JBL, MKC, WSM (TautusTrader is long WSM)
• Wednesday: CTRN, CKR, PAYX, and SAI
• Thursday: ACN, BBY, DPS, ERJ, FINL, GME, LEN, and UTIW

For details on earnings calendar, please visit:  http://www.zacks.com/commentary/10374/Earnings+Preview+for+Mar+23+-+27

 Economic Calendar:  Following economic news might have impact on the markets –

• Monday: 10:00 a.m. Feb Existing Home Sales: Expected: -0.2%. Previous: -5.3%.
• Tuesday:   1) 7:45 a.m. ICSC Chain Store Sales Index For Mar 21: Previous: -0.1%. 8:55 a.m.;  2) Redbook Retail Sales Index For Mar 21: Previous: unch.;  3) 10:00 a.m. Mar Richmond Fed Mfg Survey: Previous: -51;  4) 4:30 p.m. API Oil Industry Report For Mar 20;  5) 5:00 p.m. ABC/Wash Post Consumer Conf For Mar 21: Previous: -47;  6) Ben Bernanke testifies.
• Wednesday:  1) 7:00 a.m. Mortgage Applications Refinance Index: Previous: +29.6%.;  2) 8:30 a.m. Feb Durable Goods Orders: Expected: -1.6%. Previous: -5.2%;   3) 10:00 a.m. Feb New Home Sales: Expected: -3.6%. Previous: -10.2%;   4) 10:30 a.m. US Energy Dept Oil Inventories For Mar 20.
• Thursday:  1) 8:30 a.m. Initial Jobless Claims For Mar 21 Week: Expected: +8K. Previous: -12K.; 2) 8:30 a.m. 4Q Final GDP: Expected: -6.7%. Previous: -6.2%;  3) 10:00 a.m. DJ-BTMU Business Barometer For Mar 14: Previous: +0.5%;  4) 10:30 a.m. EIA Natl Gas Inventories For Mar 20.
• Friday:  1) 8:30 a.m. Feb Personal Income: Expected: -0.2%. Previous: +0.4%;  2) 8:30 a.m. Feb Personal Spending: Expected: +0.3%. Previous: +0.6;  3) 10:00 a.m. End-Mar Reuters/U Mich Sentiment Index: Expected: 57. Previous: 56.3. 

Picks for Monday, March 23:  Treasury’s announcement of financial rescue plan will have significant impact on the markets – finacials in particular.  Based on the news events before markets open, I may open some position in financial ETFs – FAS or FAZ.    Other than this, my picks for swing portfolio are:

• HNT – buy above $15.75, Target $17.32, Stop $14.40
• RIO – buy above $14.26, Target $16.20, Stop $13.65

Thre could be a lot of volatility assciated with financial stocks tomorrow.  I’ll be looking at the following for day trade opportunities:  FAS, FAZ, WFC, BAC, and MS. 

If there are questions or comments, please do post …..

Have a great week and happy trading.

TaurusTrader

http://www.taurustrader.wordpress.com

The Week Ahead, March 16 – 20, 2009.

Weekly Recap (March 9 – 13, 2009):  TaurusTrader’s prophecy to begin the week, ” ….  expect some bounce up for the markets this week ……. planning on exploiting any  ‘bounce ups’ as and when they happen …..”, did indeed come true.  It was not pretty to begin with on Monday, but Gosh, things changed in a hurry … when the rally started, it did not waste any time …. it just took off.  All major indices had substantial gains not seen in a while.  It was the kind of rally, no matter what you call – a bear market rally, reversal rally, short cover rally, Obama rally, anti-Obama rally, Bank CEOs rally, Stewart-Cramer rally, etc etc etc, that the TaurusTrader was waiting patiently, totally planned with right picks, and pounced on for profits! Please refer to my blog posts through out the week for details.  I hope you did well too.

For the week, Dow traded in 800 point range (6440 to 7243) to close at 7224 and gained an impressive 597 points or 9%.  S&P gained 10.7% or 73 points to close at 756.6 (range 673 to 758), a close above November 21 low of 741.  The tech heavy Nasdaq market gained 10.6% or 138 points for the week  closing at 1432 (range 1266 to 1434).

Major worries about the stability and viability of major banks were somewhat abated by upbeat statements by CEO’s Vikram Pandit of City, Jamie Dimon of JPM, and Ken Lewes of BAC – all indicated that their banks are lending and making profits!  Even though, the GE credit was downgraded by a notch to AA+, it did not hurt as the market was expecting even worse.  So, GE gained, instead of losing ground!  More importantly, the Obama administration has started talking ‘coherently’ and in unison about their plans for rescuing financial institutions and fixing economy.  Congressional hearing about modifications in mark to market accounting practice to deal with toxic assets on balance sheet of financial institutions, and SEC’s inclination to bring back the ‘uptick’ rule for shorting stocks, also added fuel to the rally. 

TaurusTrader’s swing portfolio had a fantastic week.  Five positions hit their profit targets within a short holding period of 1 to 5 days. 

1. WFC bought on Marck 9, sold on March 10 for 29.2% gain
2. BIGCC (BIG April 15 call), bought on March 6, sold on March 11 for 70% gain
3. WDC, bought on March 10, sold on March 12 for 11.8% gain
4. MS bought on March 10, sold on March 11 for 20.1% gain
5. JOYG bought on March 10, and sold on March 11 for 8.3% gain

None of the positions stopped out this week.

Because of wide intra-day price swings, we had several reccurring  profitable day trade opportunities throughout the week with our day trade picks – MON, AGU, IPI, SYT, BAC, WFC, MS, HP, HPQ,  FAS and MELI.  I had mentioned several of those trades in my daily posts.

Week Ahead, March 16 – 20:  Please do not kid yourself.  No matter what you hear from experts on CNBC, we are still in a historic bear market.  Negativism still exists, and is likely to persist for a while about the health of our economy, viability of financial institutions, political squabbling, etc.  Even in bear market, we get some burst of enthusiasm and positive uptrend periodically, like the one we got last week.  It usually is very fast and very violent!  Now you see it, you feel it, but the very next moment it is gone heading in the other direction … even faster!!  So, as I said before, be patient and be prepared to exploit those kind of movements as and when they happen.

I expect the markets to swing widely based on ‘instant news’.  There’s a lot of scheduled events that could move the markets in a blink.  It would be interesting to see how the markets would react to the ‘weekend news events’  – Ben Bernanke’s appearance on 60 minutes, OPEC’s decision to hold the oil out put steady, meeting of G-20 finance ministers, and contradictory statements made by Obama’s honchos on the health of economy at their news media circus acts!  

I liked Ben Bernanke on 60 minutes.  Thought he was forthright and heading in the right direction.  He was emphatic in asserting that the recession could end in 2009, and no big banks would fail under his watch.  Of course, there were caveats – the ‘political will’, mostly the lack of it and how soon the finanacial system can be stabilized.  In all, no harm done with this highly anticipated event!

Tim Geithnet did OK at the G-20 meeting …. No harm done here either!

OPEC’s decision to not to cut production came as a surprise that might affect energy stocks at the open on Monday.  As I write this, the crude was down by over 4% in Asian session.

Financial stocks might continue with their momentum from last week.  A few hours ago, the CEO of HSBC announced that his bank would not ask for British government bailout.  Banking stocks in Asia were responding positively to this news, as well as to the news from G-20 meeting of coordinated efforts to stem world financial crisis.

Economic calendar is busy for the week including some important releases –

• Monday – Empire State Mfg Survey (consensus – 32.00); Industrial Production (consensus, -1.2% month to month); Bernanke speaks.
• Tuesday – Housing Starts (consensus 450 K); Producers Price Index (PPI); FOMC meeting begins
• Wednesday – Consumers Price Index (CPI); EIA petroleum stats; FOMC meeting announcement
• Thursday – Jobless claims (654K); Leading Indicators (-0.6%); Philly Fed Survey (-38.0)
• Friday – Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks

For complete economic calendar for the week, please visit:

http://online.barrons.com/public/page/barrons_econoday.html

On the earnings front, 93 companies are scheduled to confess their quarterly earnings this week.  For complete list, please visit:

http://www.zacks.com/commentary/10310/Earnings+Preview+for+Mar+16+-+20

Some anticipated confessions are –

• Monday – SINA, SBLK
• Tuesday – ADBE, CSIQ, GES
• Wednesday – CLC, DRI, NKE, ORCL
• Thursday – BKS, PLCE, CRAI, FDX, WGO

At the beginning of the week, TaurusTrader’s swing portfolio contained following positions:

1. RY- filled on March 13 @ $27.70, Friday’s close @ 27.65.  Unrealized gain -0.1%.  Target 30.50.  Stop $25.60.
2. MBT – filled on March 13 @ $28.35, Friday’s close @ 28.40.  Unrealized gain 0.1%.  Target 33.10.  Stop $24.30.
3. FCN – filled on March 12 @ $47.80, Friday’s close $47.63.  Unrealized gain -0.2%.  Target $52.00.  Stop $45.15
4. MDR – filled on March 12 @ $13.40, Friday’s close $13.98. Unrealized gain 4.1%.  Target $16.00.  Stop raised to $12.90
5. CPRT – filled on March 10 @ $27.60, Friday’s close $29.43. Unrealized gain of  6.7%.  Target $30.30.  Stop raised to $27.50
6. WDCDV (WDC April 12.50 call) – filled on March 6 @ <$3.00, today’s close $4.90, gain 63%.  Target $6.00.  Stop raised to $4.00
7. SOHU – filled on March 10 @ $46.17, Friday’s close $48.66.  Unrealized gain 5.1%.  Target $50.50.  Stop raised to $46.00
8.  BMC – filled on February 24 @ $29.46, Friday’s close $29.74.  Unrealized gain 1.0%.  Target $32.00.  Stop $27.49

I’ve raised the ‘stop loss’ for WDCDV, SOHU, CPRT, and MDU to protect profits and/or to reduce losses.

Picks for Monday, March 16:  Based on the news events over the weekend discussed above, I will be watching financial and transportation sector stocks on Monday.  I will also be watching the earnings release from SINA, and for possible price action to the report.  The stocks for swing trading are –

• WFC – buy above $14.10.  Target $16.20.  Stop 11.30 (Risky and very volatile, adjust your stop to your risk tolerance)
• AMR – buy above $3.70.  Target $4.85 (50%), and $6.20 (50%).  Stop 2.80 (you could also consider DAL or CAL)

I’ll be looking at the following for day trade opportunities:  FAS, BAC, MS, ITRI, MELI, ITRI and SINA (on earnings!).  Their chart patterns and volatility look interesting!

If there are questions or comments, please do post …..

Have a great week and happy trading.

TaurusTrader

http://www.taurustrader.wordpress.com

Stocks to Watch for Thursday, March 12, 2009

Wednesday’s Recap:  A gain is a gain however small it is.  In a rather choppy trading, major indices eked out small gains to close in positive territory two days in a row in over a month!   Dow closed up 4 points, S&P gained 1.7 points, and Nasdaq fared slightly better gaining 13.4 points.  Dow failed to clear 7000, ending at 6930, S&P closed at 721.4, and Nasdaq stood at 1371.6 by the end of the day.  The financial and technology sectors held up OK, while the energy sector gave up as crude dropped 7.4%.

TaurusTrader again had a great day!  MS gapped up at open, way surpassing our target exit price.  I closed MS position immediately after open at $22.68 for a profit of 20.1% in less than 24 hours.  BIG received an upgrade this morning, and our April 15 call (BIGCC) hit our target of $5.10, for a net gain of 70%  in 4 trading sessions.  I suggested buying BIGCC on Friday the 6th, for less than $3.00. 

Our picks for today, DRYS and MBT did not hit the entry limit, hence were not bought.

As of the end of March 11,  TaurusTrader swing portfolio had following positions:

1.  CPRT – filled on March 10 @ $27.60, closed today at $28.19 for an unrealized gain of  2.1%.  Target $30.30

2.  WDCDV (WDC April 12.50 call) – filled on March 6 @ <3.00, today’s close $4.30, gain 43%.  Target $6.00

3.  WDC – filled on March 10 @ $15.30, closed today at $16.57.  Unrealized gain 8.4%.  Target $17.10

4.  SOHU – filled on March 10 @ $46.17, closed today at $49.06.  Unrealized gain 6.3%.  Target $50.50

5.  BMC – filled on February 24 @ 29.46, closed today at $28.53.  Unrealized gain -3.2%.  Target 32.00

In the past few days, we closed out MS (twice), C, SWHC, JOYG, BIGCC, WFC, and MELI for some hefty gains.  At the same time we also took some losses from UYG, PALM, PBR and ATHR after being stopped out (Please refer to my earlier blog posts).

Focus list for Thursday, March 12:  Next couple of days will be pivotal that might determine the direction of the markets for the short run.  Number of market influencing events will be taking place – 1) Traders will be watching the congressional debate tomorrow on mark to market accounting practice, 2) Treasury secretary Tim Geithnerwill be testifying before senate budget committee tomorrow, 3) advance retail sales for February are due tomorrow, along with January business inventories, and weekly jobless claims data, and 4) G-20 meeting on financial crisis and to devise coordinated efforts to mitigate the crisis.

I’ll be watching the following stocks to add to TaurusTrader swing portfolio:

1.  FCN – buy above $47.80, Target $52.00, Stop $45.15

2. MDR – buy above $13.40, Target $16.00, Stop $11.50

3.  BX – Buy above 6.31, Target $7.50, Stop $5.40

Energy stocks might see some volatility heading in to OPEC meeting over the weekend.  Technology stocks are expected to gain more on advances already made.  Banking stocks might fluctuate widely during and after the mark to market congressional hearing.  Ag and fertilizer stocks are on tear, and I expect it to continue.  So, I’ll be concentrating on following stocks for quick day trade and swing trade opportunities:

HP, HPQ, MELI, WFC, JPM, UYG, MON, AGU, and IPI.

If there are questions or comments, please do post …

Happy trading ….

TaurusTrader

http://www.taurustrader.wordpress,com