THURS. MAR. 18- Springtime

A few weeks ago, I penned this piece:
http://epiphanytrading.blogspot.com/search?q=when+golf+meets+trading

In that particular post, I noted how the markets can largely become paralyzed by certain events as they did when traders sat mesmerized at their TV’s in watching to see what Tiger Woods would say a few weeks ago. I also noted that in general, there would be a paucity of opportunities overall but that one should not take their eyes off of their screens just in case because whatever moves happen could be wildly exaggerated rapidly due to the dearth of participants. Well, this could never happen for an extended period of time, could it? Yes, it can. We’ve having the perfect storm of calmness right now. The most beautiful weather in Manhattan in months. No major news. No major geopolitics. Very few companies reporting earnings. Oh, and St. Patrick’s Day when many traders leave for an ‘early lunch” and never make it back to their offices along with the two day mystical extravaganza known as the ‘round of 64’ from the NCAA basketball tournament. I mean, if Notre Dame-Old Dominion is a 1 point game with 7.2 seconds left at 2:15PM today, the myriad of Notre Dame fans across this great nation will be watching to see what happens rather than monitoring their positions (or initiating new positions). Thus, the same rules that were in place for the Tiger moments will ostensibly be in place for long stretches of time. Combined with options expiration tomorrow, moves will be far and few between, but when they happen, they will really happen. So, enjoy the games…and the sun…but be ready for anything.

Markets in Asia were down a bit overnight with Tokyo off 1% and Hog Kong a comparably smaller 0.3%. In Europe, prices are straddling the unchanged line with a slight positive bias. Oil is down slightly with gold up a few bucks. Notably, the euro is weak against most currencies on rumblings that Greece may not be able to meet its austerity measures. But benign CPI and the continued wall of liquidity are more than countering that with futures higher once again. For the day, look for a continued upside bias on slow volume. Focus on the earnings and relative strength/weakness plays.

Reiterating-


If the whole story is not there -

If something is good, assume either a short thru unchanged or an A-B-A2 (preferably to the downside in a downside market and the upside in an upside market) based on direction of the market unless specified.

If something is bad, assume either a buy thru unchanged or an A-B-A2 (preferably to the downside in a downside market and the upside in an upside market) based on direction of the market unless specified-


Good- The following stocks have good news and/or a strong technical pattern

IOC- rebounded from recent weakness in closing near a high

GES- decent earnings

NKE- great earnings

JCG- mentioned on “Mad Money” last night

VLTR- closed near a high

WGO- decent earnings

TEVA- acquiring Ratiopharm (Germany’s 2nd largest generics producer)

GME- good earnings

Bad-The following stocks have bad news and/or a weak technical pattern

HGSI- closed near a low after releasing phase II results

FMCN- near complete reversal in closing near a low after posting earnings

FUQI- closed near a low after issuing abominable earnings

WHI- continued lower amid rumors about the FDIC; closed near a low

AMZN, RIMM- closed near a low

X, NUE- closed near a low

VHC- closed near a low in a near island reversal after winning a patent lawsuit against MSFT

AMSC- closed near a low

FCX- closed near a low

MLHR- poor earnings

I.HS- poor earnings

LIWA- closed near a low

TSL- share offering

CRAI- terrible earnings

FDX- poor guidance

VIP- poor earnings

ROST- poor earnings




Earnings:

THURS MAR 18 BEFORE

FDX GME ROST

VIP WGO

THURS MAR 18 AFTER

COMS CTAS PALM

SPWRA



Good luck today.


Epiphany Trading, LLC


www.epiphanytrading.com


Erik R. Kolodny- Chief Markets Strategist
Brendan P. Byrne- President
Joseph R. McCandless- Managing Partner
D. Timothy Seaquist- Managing Partner