CAG Watch

ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG) has flipped into bear phase on the macd today. The signal's direction is in line with a downtrend that began on March 23.

	trend	adx	psar	pps	macd	macd trend	sto	sto trend
CAG $23.72

At 1:00 p.m. Eastern

In a broader sense. CAG has been on the upswing since December 2008, tracing a series of higher highs and higher lows. It would take a decline below $22.19 to break that uptrend.

But near term, it's a downtrend toward a swing low, and it's a trend with strength: The average directional index is at 35, a good five points above my cut-off for decent trades.

The bear signals came after CAG announced it was removing high-fructose corn syrup from Hunt's Ketchup. I'm not asserting there's a connection, but it makes you wonder. HFCS is a cheap source of energy. If traders are using HFCS-free ketchup on their fries, who knows how that could affect the markets? Could it be that declining HFCS is the ultimate bear signal? Just asking.

Reversal Levels

• $24.01, +1.2%
• $23.72 <== You are here.
  
• $23.38, -1.4%
  
• $22.19, -6.5%
  

The reversal levels show little resistance to the downside, giving CAG a fairly nice shot. Person's Proprietary Signal also moved into bear phase today, and the stochastic has plunged down below the 20-line. The parabolic sar remain in bull phase, but that indicator, which uses intra-day lows, was poisoned for many issues by the flash panic of May 6. Today's decline, which includes a downward gap at the open, came after the company gave earnings guidance. The earnings announcement is scheduled for June 24 before the markets open. What news gives, news can take away. And with earnings that close, news surprises are to be expected.

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Abbreviations:

• psar - Parabolic Stop and Reverse
• adx - Average Directional Index
• pps - Person's Proprietary Signal
• ma20 - 20-day moving average
• macd - Moving Average Convergence-Divergence
• sto - Fast Stochastic

About the glance: The colors indicate the state of each signal.

• trend: Determined by the 5-day moving average, green for up, red for down, yellow for sideways
• adx: orange for above 30-up, blue for 20-down, purple for in the middle. Red is most prone to whipsaws
• psar, pps, macd: green for bull mode, red for bear
• sto: green for overbought, red for oversold, yellow for the neutral zone.

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