Market Update 7-9-12

So I took profits on Walmart at the end of the trading session and it did well.  At the end the call option was up to 1.48 so to revise my previous post you would have made $58 today ($444-$372-$14 = $58) had you got in right after my post.

I pulled out of my ATT trade because it just wasn’t moving.  I know it will be just my luck and will move tomorrow but that’s fine because I can go right back into to Walmart tomorrow and make it back.  ATT is has passed the Yahoo analyst mean target price of 34.42 and it is overbought on the daily, 60 and 30 minute chart.  I think because of the current market conditions and the technical setup it’s going to move lower to a support level.  We had a good run.

I’m going to keep banging the table on Walmart and watch Target (TGT) to see if it will move tomorrow.  As far as stock valuation goes, Target looks better than Walmart but the market responds to emotion more than anything which is why many companies that look good in terms of valuation right now still are trading on the cheap.  My GE trade still hasn’t popped but the fundamentals look great and the technical setup looks great as well.  It’s just the way it goes.

Market Update #2 7-6-12

Interesting developments…the market is actually absorbing the news pretty well and some stocks are rebounding.  I’m glad I got into Walmart yesterday.  It looks like it is pushing higher despite the news.  Walmart is an interesting stock.  It seems to do well when there is bad news because people will always need to buy staple goods at cheap prices and Walmart is the cheapest.  

ATT fell off like I thought it would because of the dividend payment but is steadily regaining its losses.

DNKN took a hit off the news but is holding on to a support level

GE is tanking down to last week’s levels. I’m not happy about that one but you can’t win ‘em all.  This is another lesson to pick focused stocks (stocks that are focused in one sector) in a volatile market like this.  GE is a conglomerate and has exposure to different industry sectors.  It’s almost like a mutual fund.  Any general news will affect this stock.

Market Watch for 7-6-12

Well I couldn’t help myself…I got back into WMT.  The way the options move is the main reason I can’t stay away from WMT.  My other options positions just move too slow and WMT seems to respond to the market moves a lot quicker.  This could be for any number of reasons, but I’m guessing it’s because of volume.  

DNKN started to make a breakout today and the technicals look good for it to continue tomorrow.  I wanted to get out of my ATT position but it went below my profit level and I will just hold onto it to see what will happen.  Hopefully the fact that the dividend date is passed won’t affect it too much.  

The main thing to watch tomorrow is the jobs data and the consumer price index which both come out in the morning.  Hopefully they have good news for us tomorrow and the market rallies up. It may seem like the market is a virtual Las Vegas slot machine right now but that’s because there is so much data and news to absorb.  Normally the technical set ups will work more consistently but there is a lot of noise throwing them off.  If the fundamentals of the company are sound and the stock looks good from a technical standpoint, then regardless of market conditions the price will respond eventually.  It’s just a matter of time.  So we just got to be patient and let the waves develop.

This is also the reason why it is important to be investing in individual stocks in this type of market.  The ETFs and sector stocks are too generalized to really respond to this type of market volatility.  Individual stocks will move because they are good companies and are well positioned.  Sometimes there are a bunch of stocks in a sector that are not healthy companies and they are dragging down the sector.  While there may be one good stock that is in that bunch, the ETF doesn’t have a chance if the other stocks offset that good company.  Stick with the individual stock approach for now until there’s more stability.

Market Update #2 7-5-12

So here’s the setup…The ECB cut rates as expected and the ADP report was better than expected.  Also the jobless claims number was down and Central Bank of China has cut rates.  All the news is positive however the market can react in very strange ways even with positive news.  Since some investors were expecting QE3 (Quantitative Easing) because of the downward situation in Europe they may think that the Fed (Federal Reserve) will hold off on QE3 because of positive numbers in jobless claims and the other reports.

Bottom line…wait and see what the market does after the opening bell  

Stocks to watch:

SNE – Big release of Spider Man this week.  Target price 15.72 off of technical set up from the Daily chart

S (Sprint) – The technical setup looks good for Sprint.  I see a target price of $3.71 but if it breaks that level it could go higher

T – Dividend declaration at end of trading day

AAPL – British judge ruled against AAPL in its four patent infringement claims against HTC, they also are going to release a smaller ipad

Market Update 7-5-12

Hold on to your seats ladies and gentleman today is going to be a wild ride.  There is so much data coming out by 9am it’s anybody’s guess as to what the markets will do.  I suggest a wait and see approach before jumping in.  The ADP jobs report and the ECB rate decision will most likely be the main movers of the market but there is also the manufacturing data and consumer data coming out as well.

I’m going to be looking at WMT again to respond off the consumer data and knowing that some analysts have a $79 price target on WMT it may nudge closer to that goal.  However I’m going to wait for it to pull back first.  Usually it has a pull back after the 10:30am time frame.   

ATT (stock symbol “T”) is also declaring their dividend on Friday which will likely drive the price higher so I will look to pull out of my position before the close of the market today.