QQQ CLEARS 200-DAY AVERAGE -- LAM RESEARCH SCORES BULLISH BREAKOUT -- YAHOO IS CLOSE TO DOING THE SAME -- FACEBOOK AND MICROSOFT HAVE A STRONG DAY -- APPLE IS REBOUNDING FROM LONG TERM SUPPORT AND MAY BE BOTTOMING
QQQ CLEARS 200-DAY LINE... The market was led higher by the Nasdaq market today. Last Friday's message showed the PowerShares QQQ Trust testing its 200-day moving average. Chart 1 shows the QQQ clearing that important chart barrier today. Since the QQQ is comprised of the largest 100 non-financial stocks in the Nasdaq, its upside breakout today is a positive sign for that market. Although the QQQ is getting some help from biotechs and consumer discretionary stocks, technology is the largest part of the QQQ. And that's where most of today's buying came from.
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Chart 1
LAM RESEARCH BREAKS OUT -- YAHOO IS CLOSE... Chart 2 shows Lam Reseach (LRCX) breaking out to the highest level since last July. Its relative strength line (top of chart) has done the same. Chart 3 shows Yahoo (YHOO) on the verge of breaking through December's intra-day high. It just recently cleared its 200-day line. Its relative strength line (top of chart) has reached the highest level in eight months. Some big Nasdaq stocks also had a strong day.
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Chart 2
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Chart 3
FACEBOOK AND MICROSOFT ADVANCE ... Chart 4 shows Facebook (FB) climbing 2% to the highest level in nearly two months. That puts the stock within striking distance of its early February intra-day peak. FB is one of the five biggest stocks in the QQQ. The second biggest is Microsoft (MSFT). Chart 5 shows that stock trading 2% higher today and challenging overhead resistance near 55. A close above that level would put it in position to challenge its December high.
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Chart 4
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Chart 5
APPLE IS REBOUNDING ... Apple (AAPL) is the biggest stock in the Nasdaq and the entire stock market. So what it does is very important. The daily bars in Chart 6 show the stock rebounding to the highest level in nearly three months. It's also nearing a test of its 200-day average. It has a long way to go to turn its trend higher. But the weekly bars in Chart 7 show Apple (AAPL) rebounding off chart support along its 2012 high. In addition, its 14-week RSI line (top of chart) has bounced twice off oversold territory near 30. And its weekly MACD lines (below chart) have turned positive by the most in a year. All of which suggest that Apple may be bottoming. That would certainly be a positive development for the Nasdaq and the market as a whole. And for the technology sector.
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Chart 6
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Chart 7
TECHNOLOGY SPDR NEARS NEW HIGH... Chart 8 shows the Technology SPDR (XLK) closing right up against its fourth quarter high today. Its relative strength line (top of chart) has already broken through. That increases the odds that XLK will do the same. That would make it the second economically-sensitive sector ETF to achieve a bullish breakout. The Industrials SPDR (XLI) accomplished that a week ago. Those are positive signs for the market which also had a good day.
