Dave Landry's Market in a Minute - Friday, 4/20/12

Random Thoughts

The random thoughts are pretty much a cut and paste:

As I've been saying, a few big up days would make all the difference in the world. Obviously, we didn't see any upside follow through on Thursday. So, this keeps us in one-day-at-a-time mode.

So, what do we do? I think the plan remains the same:

1)Honor your stops on existing positions just in case this turns into something bigger. 2)Be selective on new positions. Trade the best and leave the rest. 3)Wait for entries on new positions. Again, as I preach, this can often keep you out of new trouble. 4)Start thinking about firing off a short or two but keep #2 and #3 in mind.

Futures are firm pre-market.

Random Thoughts

As I've been saying, a few big up days would make all the difference in the world. Obviously, we didn't see any follow through on Wednesday. So, this keeps us in one-day-at-a-time mode.

So, what do we do? I think the plan remains the same:

1)Honor your stops on existing positions just in case this turns into something bigger. 2)Be selective on new positions. Trade the best and leave the rest. 3)Wait for entries on new positions. Again, as I preach, this can often keep you out of new trouble. 4)Start thinking about firing off a short or two but keep #2 and #3 in mind.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Futures are flat pre-market.

Reminder--Chart show today. Call in sick. Dress casually, drink plenty of fluids, and bring plenty of questions

Random Thoughts

Well, Tuesday's action is why I think it's a little too early to make any big picture predictions and become a Ursidae Shortalotagus.

Now, don't get me wrong. Let's not start kissing each other just yet. Tuesday obviously scores as a positive but follow through will be key. A few more big up days would put the market back to new highs and we can all breathe a temporary sigh of relief.

So, what do we do? I think the plan remains the same:

1)Honor your stops on existing positions just in case this turns into something bigger.

2)Be selective on new positions. Trade the best and leave the rest. 3)Wait for entries on new positions. Again, as I preach, this can often keep you out of new trouble. 4)Start thinking about firing off a short or two but keep #2 and #3 in mind.

I think #3 is key. It won't always save your buttocks but on a day like Tuesday, it's likely that potential shorts would not have triggered.

Yet again, take things one day at a time. If your stops get hit, honor them.

Futures are soft pre-market.

Click here to watch today's Market in a Minute.

Best of luck with your trading today!

Dave
__________

Random Thoughts

Well, Tuesday's action is why I think it's a little too early to make any big picture predictions and become a Ursidae Shortalotagus.

Now, don't get me wrong. Let's not start kissing each other just yet. Tuesday obviously scores as a positive but follow through will be key. A few more big up days would put the market back to new highs and we can all breathe a temporary sigh of relief.

So, what do we do? I think the plan remains the same:

1)Honor your stops on existing positions just in case this turns into something bigger.

2)Be selective on new positions. Trade the best and leave the rest. 3)Wait for entries on new positions. Again, as I preach, this can often keep you out of new trouble. 4)Start thinking about firing off a short or two but keep #2 and #3 in mind.

I think #3 is key. It won't always save your buttocks but on a day like Tuesday, it's likely that potential shorts would not have triggered.

Yet again, take things one day at a time. If your stops get hit, honor them.

Futures are soft pre-market.

Click here to watch today's Market in a Minute.

Best of luck with your trading today!

Dave

April 18, 2012 - Intel (INTC)

Barchart.com's Chart of the Day - Chubb Corp (CB) for Apr 20, 2012

The "Chart of the Day" is Chubb Corp (CB), which showed up on Thursday's Barchart "All-Time High" list. Chubb on Thursday posted a new all-time high of $72.46 and closed up 2.15%. TrendSpotter has been Long since April 2 at $69.80. Chubb on Thursday reported Q1 EPS of $1.70, well above the market consensus of $1.52. Chubb on Feb 23 increased its quarterly dividend by 5.1% to 41 cents per share from 31 cents. Chubb Corp, with a market cap of $19 billion, is a leading provider of property and casualty insurance.

Barchart.com's Chart of the Day - PPG Industries (PPG) for Apr 19, 2012

The "Chart of the Day" is PPG Industries (PPG), which showed up on Wednesday's Barchart "All-Time High" list. PPG on Wednesday posted a new all-time high of $98.89 and closed up 0.13%. TrendSpotter issued a Buy signal on April 12 at $96.83. In recent news on the stock, Citigroup on April 16 upgraded PPG to a Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $114 from $107, citing the benefits from lower natural gas prices and the improvement in the automotive and aerospace sectors. PPG management on April 5 provided Q1 EPS guidance of $1.75-1.80, which was substantially higher than the consensus of $1.44. PPG Industries, with a market cap of $14 billion, produces coatings, glass, and chemicals.

Barchart.com's Chart of the Day - Novo Nordisk (NVO) for Apr 18, 2012

The "Chart of the Day" is Novo Nordisk (NVO), which showed up on Tuesday's Barchart "All-Time High" list. Novo Nordisk on Tuesday posted a new all-time high of $151.55 and closed up 1.55%. TrendSpotter in late March took a profit on a 2-month long position and just turned long again on April 2 at $145.77. In recent news on the stock, Barron's on Jan 25 ran a story that highlighted five drugs that could boost the fortunes of their drugmakers, one of which was Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Degludec. However, Deutchebank on April 4 downgraded Novo Nordisk to Sell from Hold citing valuation concerns and pessimism about the sales prospects for the company's Victoza obesity drug. Novo Nordisk, with a market cap of $84 billion, is a world leader in insulin and diabetes care and also manufactures and markets a variety of other pharmaceutical products. Furthermore the company is the world's largest producer of industrial enzyme products. The company is based in Denmark.

Today was weird, fast start with a few good opportunities highlighted by LQMT and ROSG, and then it just got boring, so boring I had to leave for a bit. Then came back to catch AAMRQ getting love off the rumor that the unions involved with American Airlines are okay with a merger/takeover with US Airways (LCC). Beauty consolidation breakout over .50 on this info and I bought right on .50. A few others in chat made beer money on AAMRQ as well. Still holding overnight. Looking for .60 in the morning to at least sell half if not just lock in the entire possible 20% gain.

Friday is 4/20. Pot heads unite. Maybe they get a few of the weed stocks rolling. So watch CBIS MJNA HEMP, the 3 that get the most action in that order. The rest of the list for Friday:

AAMRQ ADY AMNP BPHX CPST CWTR ELTP ENTB FUEL HDVY LQMT MNGA ONCS PMBS RMCP ROSG SQNM TUFF XOMA

GTIM FONR PRKR FSII FRP TISA ZHNE SMSI LACO MEMS SVNT

Add: SEFE SNPK RSRS

Twitter is a fantastic place to find trade ideas and check what?s happening in the markets. The problem is, there is a lot of noise and a lot of spammers. So how do you separate the wheat from the chaff? It was no easy task, but I?ve separated the top 25 traders who provide the best advice, insights and articles. The order is put together through a combination of frequency of posting, total followers and the usefulness of their tweets.

1 Howard Lindzon
2 Brian Shannon
3 Paul Kedrosky
4 Steve Grasso
5 ChessNWine

See the rest of the list here. There's been quite a lot of controversy