Stocks are rocketing this morning, propelled by news that some of the world’s biggest central banks are teaming up to boost the amount of emergency liquidity available to European banks. As I write, the S&P 500 is up more than 3.3% on the day — adding onto the 3.15% gains that stocks had already made to start the week.
Today’s price action puts the major index just a couple of percentage points from breakeven again this year, an important psychological switch for investors who’ve been riding the market roller coaster in 2011. With the S&P bumping its head on an important resistance level today, it’ll be crucial to see whether stocks can hold these levels right now.
To do that, here’s a look at today’s small-cap market movers…
Papa John’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA): What has gotten into pizza stocks lately? It’s not just Papa John’s, either. Nearly every major pizza chain is soaring while the rest of the market has stumbled. It’s almost as if pizza is the new coffee now that former high-flyers Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ:GMCR) and Coffee Holding Co. (NASDAQ:JVA) have lost favor with the momentum investing crowd.
Looking at a chart of Papa John’s, you wouldn’t even suspect that investors just lived through the worst Thanksgiving week for the markets since the 1930s:
Zipcar Inc. (NASDAQ:ZIP): Here’s a classic example of a compelling business idea that just isn’t translating into a stock market success just yet. Zipcar — an intriguing car sharing network in major U.S. cities — has seen its stock price steadily drop in 2011. It’s down more than 40% on the year — and it looks like it could breakout lower.
The technicals aren’t pretty, so you should only consider a play on the short side:
Two weeks ago, I wrote about how semiconductor stocks could be on the verge of a breakout. Semis were on fire earlier this year, and looked to be on pace to outperform the averages — until the market started to tank last week. The Dow Jones US Semiconductor Index, which was is attempting to post new short-term highs two weeks ago, is showing us a bearish double-top.
Relative weakness could put a cap on any hope of a semiconductor rally in the near-term:
Penny Promotions
[Editor’s note: In this section of Market Movers, we expose stocks that are currently the subject of promotional material. If you’re unfamiliar with promotions, pumps and dumps, or other penny stock scams, please take the time to read this columnbefore continuing. Unless you are an experienced trader, we recommend that you avoid these stocks at any price .]
RegenoCELL Therapeutics Inc. (OTC:RCLL): I received several spam e-mails this week pumping this stem cell stock. Despite the 26% pop yesterday, RCLL is basically dead-on-arrival.
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