The stock market indices had a very volatile day and as the FOMC meeting made their announcement, they were whipsawed back and forth.
The day started out with an immediate rally to resistance, and then they made an extension move that took them into early afternoon. After the FOMC meeting made their announcement at 2 o'clock, the indices plunged initially, tested the morning lows successfully, and then sharply moved to new highs for the day. The last 10-15 minutes, they rolled over to pare back the gains.
Net on the day, the Dow was up 59.54 at 16,979.13, about 15 points off the high. The S&P 500 was up 4.91 at 1986.51, just a couple points off its high. The Nasdaq 100 was up .57 at 4040.70, 6 points off the high.
Advance-declines were positive by only 84 issues on the New York Stock Exchange, and negative by more than 700 issues on Nasdaq. Up/down volume was 2 to 1 positive on New York, with total volume of 530 million shares. Nasdaq traded 1.4 billion shares, and had a 4 to 3 positive volume ratio.
The underpinning for the rally today were very negative.
TheTechTrader.com board was mixed, and many of the issues we trade were very narrowly changed. Priceline.com Incorporated (PCLN) was up by 1.59 to 1273.37, and Google Inc. (GOOG) was down 2.37 to 584.49. Apple Inc. (AAPL), although it made a new all-time high, moved up just a few pennies to 100.57, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) gained only 65 cents to 335.78, while Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), the outstanding stock for today, jumped 4.04 to 472.19.
Pharmacyclics Inc. (PCYC) was up only 39 cents to 120.30, Tesla Motors, Inc. (TSLA) was down 1.05 to 255.71, and Vipshop Holdings Limited (VIPS) was up by 9 cents to 215.91.
So you can see what we mean by a mixed picture.
Low-priced biotech, Pernix Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (PTX), gained 1.25 to 8.26.
Checking the TheTechTrader.com percent-gain leaderboard, Doral Financial Corporation (DRL) had a late move that took it 9.29 about an hour after the FOMC started, and then closing at 8.29, up 90 cents, or 12%, on 2.6 million shares.
Galectin Therapeutics, Inc. (GALT) popped 50 cents to 5.08, or 11%, on 1.1 million shares. Digital Group, Inc. (MNDL) bounced 35 cents to 5.36, or 7%, on 1.1 million shares.
China Finance Online Co., Ltd. (JRJC), which was the winner of the day today, thrust 1.08 to 9.17, or 13%, on 9.6 million shares. It dipped in the morning, got down to 7.28, and with less than an hour to go, it roared back to 9.20, before pulling back to 9.17.
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (AEO), a teen apparel retailer, continues to surge after better-than-expected earnings, up 1.39 to 12.98, or 12%, on 31.6 million shares. Leju Holdings Limited (LEJU), a Chinese real estate company, jumped 1.74 to 16.35, or 12%, on 2.4 million shares on positive earnings. The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (HAIN), a health food company, ran 9.58 to 96.51, or 11%, on 3.9 million shares, and trading over 98 at one point.
Among other gainers, Exact Sciences Corporation (EXAS) was up 1.18 to 19.52, SodaStream International Ltd. (SODA) up 1.57 to 34.33, The Home Depot, Inc. (HD), which we day traded today, up 2.52 to 90.75, and Arista Networks, Inc. (ANET) 1.40 to 76.40.
China Mobile Games and Entertainment Group Limited (CMGE) climbed 93 cents to 15.89, Kandi Technolgies Group, Inc. (KNDI) gained 65 cents to 20.39, Micron Technology Inc. (MU) popped 90 cents to 33.30, and U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (SLCA) 1.19 to 63.32.
Stepping back and reviewing the hourly chart patterns, the indices came down early at the get-go, rallied back, retested, and then ran to new mid-day highs only to rollover sharply when the FOMC decision came out. They snapped back just as sharply, if not more so, reaching new highs for the day. In the last 10 minutes they backed off once again to finish the volatility for the day, but finished on the plus side for the indices, narrow technicals, particularly on Nasdaq 100, where the advance/declines were beat out by 700 issues lower. An amazing negative divergence there.
Let's see what happens tomorrow.
Good Trading!
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