The S&P showed resilience again on Tuesday, bouncing from early weakness to finish in positive territory. The Nasdaq showed relative strength all day to finish with a 0.67% gain while the Dow closed down 0.27%.
The biotech sector continues to be the story of the market with stocks in the sector taking turns breaking out. This morning Marc Sperling highlighted Biogen (BIIB) as his Trade Idea of the Week and the stock was strong all day to post a 4.38% gain. Gilead (GILD) hit our target zone of $81 from Off the Charts with a 4.06% gain today. Intercept (ICPT) and Galectin (GALT) got back on their horses today to post gains of 14.35% and 11.35%, respectively. The biotechs look like they could lead the market in 2014.
Action was mixed in tech. Tesla (TSLA) tacked on another 3.92% after resting on Friday. Facebook (FB) bounced back from Friday’s weakness with a 3.93% gain and looks like it could be headed for a breakout. Apple (AAPL) bounced back from Friday’s sell-off as well with a 1.55% gain but has no clear set-up right now. Amazon (AMZN) looks ripe for a potential breakout after coming close today. Gogo (GOGO) has pulled considerably off highs, but with today’s 5.65% gain looks it could get momentum out of its descending channel.
Select bank stocks were weak today. Morgan Stanley (MS) gave back 2.31% of its gains from Friday and entered the gap. Goldman Sachs (GS) finished the day down 1.75% lower despite closing well off its lows of the day. Citigroup (C) continues to bleed lower after a weak earnings quarter, dropping 0.80% today.
The retail sector remained weak as the Starbucks (SBUX) and Walmart (WMT) short ideas from Off the Charts continued lower, while Lululemon (LULU) staged a Red Dog Reversal that could lead to at least a short-term oversold bounce.
3-D printing stocks took a hit after Citron Research published a bearish report on Organovo (ONVO), which finished the day down 9.42% in response. Sector leader 3-D Systems (DDD) closed down 5.41%. Overall the sector has become increasingly erratic and would best be avoided unless traded on a very short-term basis.
Oil tankers got a huge bid today with names like Nordic America Tankers (NAT), Frontline (FRO), Teekay Tankers (TNK) and Tsakos Energy (TNP) finished up around 10%. We’ll be watching closely to see whether the shipping sector as a whole can become resurgent.
Winter Storm Janus is likely to snarl transportation in the Northeast tomorrow, so look out for my one-man Morning Call tomorrow at around 8:45 AM ET rather than the usual Wednesday video with Scott Redler and Brittany Umar.
Disclosure: No relevant positions
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