Stocks extended their rally on Thursday with the Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY) and the Healthcare SPDR (XLV) leading the way. Led by a big move in retail, XLY advanced .84% and hit a 52-week high. Led by big pharma, XLV advanced .96% and also hit a 52-week high. Healthcare is the hottest sector in 2013 with a 20.48% year-to-date gain. XLV is up almost twice as much as the S&P 500. All sectors are up this year with the three defensive sectors leading. Even though this points to some risk-aversion in the market, the offensive sectors are not down. In fact, XLY, XLF and XLI are up double digits this year.
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Key Reports and Events (all times Eastern):
Fri - Apr 12 - 08:30 - Retail Sales
Fri - Apr 12 - 08:30 - Producer Price Index (PPI)
Fri - Apr 12 - 09:55 - Michigan Sentiment
Fri - Apr 12 - 10:00 - Business Inventories
Charts of Interest: Tuesday and Thursday
This commentary and charts-of-interest are designed to stimulate thinking. This analysis is
not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold or sell short any security (stock ETF or otherwise).
We all need to think for ourselves when it comes to trading our own accounts. First, it is
the only way to really learn. Second, we are the only ones responsible for our decisions.
Think of these charts as food for further analysis. Before making a trade, it is important
to have a plan. Plan the trade and trade the plan. Among other things, this includes setting
a trigger level, a target area and a stop-loss level. It is also important to plan for three
possible price movements: advance, decline or sideways. Have a plan for all three scenarios
BEFORE making the trade. Consider possible holding times. And finally, look at overall market
conditions and sector/industry performance.
About the author:
Arthur Hill, CMT, is the Chief Technical Strategist at TrendInvestorPro.com. Focusing predominantly on US equities and ETFs, his systematic approach of identifying trend, finding signals within the trend, and setting key price levels has made him an esteemed market technician. Arthur has written articles for numerous financial publications including Barrons and Stocks & Commodities Magazine. In addition to his Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designation, he holds an MBA from the Cass Business School at City University in London.
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