Thursday: No Trade

None of the five symbols that survived my initial screening last night has made it past the second wave of analysis. So I won't be opening any new positions today.

The details of the first-wave analysis can be found in last night's posting, "Thursday's Prospects".

The breakouts came amid a very tentative return to a bullish bias after Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke signaled a gradual slackening of financial stimulus next year. His nuanced remarks sent the markets into a mini-panic to the downside.

With a 2:1 ratio of bull to bear signals, I wouldn't exactly say the bull has returned, but the bear is napping, exhausted after its exertions a week ago, when its rampage produced bear signals at a rate 43 times the bull signals.

Here's how today's first-wave analysis survivors, all bull signals, fared in the second wave, in descending order by volume:

P has financials that don't match a bullish outlook, with return on equity of negative 45%. Ouch! P, of course, is the innovative Pandora music streaming service. It's price is approaching its $20 opening price in its 2011 initial public offering, and a break above that level might override the financials. But for now, the chart is still ensnared in the IPO congestion, which can cause some resistance.

NOW had a July 24 earnings announcement pop up on the calendar this morning, bringing it within my exclusion period. I don't open new positions in a stock within 30 days of earnings publication.

ITC has a bearish analytical rating from Zacks. This isn't always a barrier to entry, but I'm not otherwise excited by ITC, whose lower liquidity won't let me take advantage of the leverage and hedging provided by options.

NGL fell back within its price channel and so failed to confirm the bull signal.

DNZOY, an over-the-counter stock, lacks the financial data I need to assess it, as is often the case with foreign companies trading as American depository receipts. Its average volume is under 18,000 shares a day. If it were more liquid I would be tempted, but with such low volume I don't want to chance a financially blind trade.

References

My trading rules can be read here. And the classic Turtle Trading rules on which my rules are based can be read here.

Disclaimer

Tim Bovee, Private Trader tracks the analysis and trades of a private trader for his own accounts. Nothing in this blog constitutes a recommendation to buy or sell stocks, options or any other financial instrument. The only purpose of this blog is to provide education and entertainment.

No trader is ever 100 percent successful in his or her trades. Trading in the stock and option markets is risky and uncertain. Each trader must make trading decision decisions for his or her own account, and take responsibility for the consequences.