HEALTHCARE STOCK LEADERS -- MARKET LOSES A LITTLE GROUND BUT ON LIGHT VOLUME
AETNA MOVING UP... Earlier today we showed charts of the healthcare group. The following charts show some of the healthcare stocks that have led the move up in that group and which, in our opinion, have promising chart patterns. We're showing them in alphabetical order. Aetna has recently hit an eight-month high and is moving toward the highs of last summer. The monthly chart shows that a move over 50 would represent a major upside breakout.
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ALLERGAN BREAKING OUT... Allergan has one of the more attractive chart patterns. The stock has just broken out of a base pattern near 65 -- and is hitting a new 52-week high. The monthly chart shows that the stock has just completed a two-year "bullish wedge" pattern.
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MEDIMMUNE IN NEW UPTREND... A biotech stock, Medimmune, has already broken above chart resistance near 30. It appears to have entered a new uptrend. Its monthly chart shows the stock having just broken a two-year down trendline. Some other recent leaders include Forest Labs and Varian Medical. However, those stocks have already been in strong uptrends for several years.
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DRUG LEADERS... Several other recent leaders in the healthcare field include drug stocks like Pfizer, Pharmacia, and Wyeth. [Please see our Market Message for March 19 which showed charts of some of the drug leaders]. One of today's biggest gainers is Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. It recently broke through resistance near 40, however, and already looks a little over-extended. Its monthly chart shows TEVA has also just exceeded its year 2000 high just below 40.
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DOW DIPS 50 POINTS ON LOW VOLUME... The final chart shows the Dow losing a little more ground today -- but on light volume. The Dow recently failed to stay above its (red) 200-day average. If it continues to correct the runup of the previous two weeks, some support may re-surface near its (blue) 50-day average, which sits tonight at 8038. The green horizontal lines show the Fibonacci retracement levels, which may also provide some support. Interestingly, the 38% retracement line sits right at the mid-February peak near 8100. The will be the first significant test of underlying support for the Dow.
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