The purpose of this Market Call section is to
educate readers in technical analysis patterns and indicators. As with all investment
information, you need to research information and consult your financial advisor before
initiating any strategies that are contained in Market Call.
Also, you must realize that as with all trading strategies,
opinions can change quickly depending on market conditions and developments.
This column tries to present historical examples, potential set
ups, and examples of entry and exit strategies.
Regardless of the direction of the general market, some stocks will move in
the other direction.
We are very oversold in the general market and a bounce soon can be expected.
I do not like to play a hero picking bottoms, but rather wait for a turn.
We are seeing some stocks turn, while others continue to falter.
I actually like to buy highs. Because if believe that stocks hitting new
highs usually continue to hit more new highs.
Support and Resistance and Breakouts
Think of security prices as a war. It is a battle between a bull (the
buyer) and a bear (the seller). The bulls push prices higher and the bears
push prices lower. A buyer that feels an area has good value, will buy at
that level. The seller that feels that a stock has reached fair value, will
sell at that higher fair value price. The direction prices actually move
reveals who has won the battle.
Remember when a trade takes place, a buyer and seller agreed to a price.
There was a buyer and a seller involved in the transaction. The buyer feels
the stock will go up. The seller wants to move on to another stock that he
may feel will appreciate faster.
Support levels are the price where the majority of traders feel the value
is a good buy.
Resistance is the level in which the majority of traders feel prices will
move lower.
When the majority of traders and investors change their expectations, these
support and resistance areas get violated and a new trend may be beginning.
This can occur due to changes in expectation of earnings, new product
development, change of personnel, cut backs or expansions.
One interesting pattern that traders see after a breakout, is that the
stock or index retraces a part of the initial move by about 50%. If the 50%
retracement does not hold, the stock or index can still be in a trend if
the previous breakout resistance holds.
Let's look at Metromedia Fiber Network (NASDAQ: MFNX).
Here is an example of a stock making new highs, on a day where the NASDAQ
100 futures was down over 5%.
MFNX has been in an uptrend this entire year do far.
Over the past week, MFNX has been in a trading range, but today, March 14,
2000, broke to new 52 week highs.
This kind of stock always gets my attention.
Everyone who owns it is making money. No one is saying "if my stock goes
up, I am getting out".
These breaks to new highs can be very explosive.
The ideal Buy would have been 89 �, but I would still Buy it here.
The stock should not go back down to the breakout point from here.
If bought, I would place a stop at 89.
