Big Wave Trading Portfolio Update And Top Current Holdings

It was an exciting end to what was a boring week. The weak SELL signal that our portfolio was under switched to a NEUTRAL signal on Friday morning with the Nasdaq gapping above the 50 day moving average. This automatically put us at NEUTRAL as the 50 day moving average was the fail safe area. In the final 30 minutes of trading the stock market indexes began to take off again on strong volume. This then switched our model into a BUY signal. This signal is not being confirmed by volume in the Nasdaq, Russell 2000, leveraged and non-leveraged ETFs. This means that we will continue to trade small but we can increase our long positions in our portfolios due to recent longs all working out the past few days. Since the BUY signal was triggered at the EOM, we can not say that this is a true strong signal. There simply are too many non-confirmations. The model will need to see further confirmation via price and volume in the indexes and ETFs if it is to get anywhere near 50-100% invested. The best aspect of the BUY signal comes from leading stocks with strong fundamentals and technicals. Even though these breakouts/moves are not even close to being perfect, we must recognize in this strange QE/Operation Twist environment volume has become irrelevant for the first time in history. There is no other point in time going back to 1880 on the DJIA, 1957 on the SP 500, and 1971 on the Nasdaq where you will see the market rally for any period of time on below average monthly volume. If you pullup a monthly chart plotted with a 50 monthly volume average you can see that there has never been a time where the averages have rallied on below average volume. The shocking thing about this is that this has been going on since the end of 2008 on the SP 500 and since the end of QE1 in 2010 on the Nasdaq. So this is unprecedented trading and the lack of volume will continue to keep us off of margin until the 50 day weekly and monthly volume average sees some kind of decent accumulation. Market manipulated money printing rallies are simply not going to produce the old 100%-500% gains in 6-12 months like we got used to in leading momentum stocks from 1982-2008. Only a major market reset where prices can find a real bottom is going to unleash another round of accumulation buying. The current BUY signal will switch to NEUTRAL if the market closes below Friday’s LOD. There are some nice bases out there that are still forming in strong CANSLIM quality names. If these continue to breakout, we will continue to increase our long exposure per each position. In this tape, no trend is safe, so we must move very carefully. Going all in 200% margin right here is simply foolish as volume does not confirm this is going to be a powerful move across the board. If that volume comes in during the next couple of weeks, wonderful. If it doesn’t, will you really be surprised? I know I will not. Have a wonderful weekend and aloooooha! Top Current Holdings – Percent Gain – Date of Signal AVD – 84% – 1/10/12 BVSN short – 74% – 3/19/12 VRNM short – 38% – 4/10/12 PHMD short – 33% – 5/11/12 MAGS short – 28% – 4/18/12 WZE short – 27% – 4/10/12 ANGI – 26% – 5/31/12 SNTA – 25% – 6/26/12

Merkel Cancels Meeting Sends Stocks off the Lows of the Session

The morning got going with GDP coming in-line with expectations. Putrid growth of 1.9% was in-line with expectations, but far from where we should be 3 years removed from 2009 lows. Shortly after the market opened the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare and the market got interesting. Stocks ended up heading lower after creating a bit of intraday volatility. Nearing the end of the day it appeared sellers were about to unleash on stocks, but Angela Merkel had other ideas. Sending the EURUSD currency pair higher, Merkel canceled her press conference and sent US stocks well off their lows. Hope is still alive the EU summit will produce a solution to European lows. The underlying story of the day was the brutal beating leading stocks took during the day. Big Wave Trading remains in sell mode and today’s craziness confirms our market model. The crazy moves the last two days at the closes on rumor is quite astounding. Yesterday we had the Supreme Court decision shooting down Obamacare. Now, we get Merkel cancelling a press conference and the European Union is saved for another day? Debt on top of more debt is not a solution and at some point hits the point of diminishing returns. Tomorrow, despite the bar being set low will certainly provide some more fireworks. After-hours today RIMM reported terrible earnings as the company continues its downward spiral. It is no surprise the stock continues moving lower. NKE on the other hand was a leading stock and its after-hours action is very troubling. UA another leading stock was hit in sympathy and not to mention has broken down lately. It is never a good sign when leading stocks get hit hard. There are other leading stocks breaking down leading us to be very cautious. We are in sell mode for a reason and until the market can turn around with leading stocks we’ll stay in sell mode. Next week we’ll get holiday trading with the fourth of July landing smack-dab in the middle of the week. Get out and enjoy the weekend!

Stocks End Higher For Second Straight Day as NYSE Volume Drops

Better than expected GDP and Pending home sales helped boost the stock market in the early going, but the rally appeared to stall out after lunch time. Heading into the 3 o’clock hour it appeared the market was ready to rollover into oblivion and then rumors started to fly. Obamacare would be struck down with a 6-3 vote by the Supreme Court justices. A big blow to Obama, but a positive for the stock market or so it’s perceived. Volume ended mixed once again with NASDAQ volume higher and the NYSE lower on the day. The close wasn’t stellar again for the second straight day with the market unable to hang onto the highs of the day. Some positives as we did close higher, but we remain in sell mode until the market can prove an uptrend can be sustainable. A few leading stocks sold off today, but two in particular were quite nasty. ORLY and CMG have been two stock market leaders for quite some time and their actions today are quite negative. Even MNST had a bad day, but CMG and ORLY were particularly ugly. This is not the type of moves you want to see out of your stock market leaders. AAPL has been relatively quiet over the entire month of June. AAPL was a major contributor for the early ’12 rally. Perhaps it is putting in a base, but for now the stock has yet to move. The picture of leading stocks is not as clear as we’d like and will continue to monitor. Tomorrow we’ll get a reading on GDP. The market is looking for 1.9% quarter over quarter annualized growth. Let’s be honest, we have zero clue what the number will be. However, we can use the price action to our advantage and follow it. If the number is lower than 1.9% it would certainly have the market pundits getting after the fed to print more money. How will the market react then? It is useless to guess here and to position yourself solely based upon your opinion on the number is silly. Use price as your guide and leave the guess work to CNBC. Stick to price and cut your losses.

Stocks End Recoup Some of Monday’s Losses; Volume Mixed

The markets did their best to rebound from Monday’s sell off, but fell short. Volume ended mixed on the day with the NYSE volume coming in lower and the NASDAQ coming in better than Monday’s levels. Economic data was disappointing with Consumer Confidence and the Richmond Fed disappointed with lower than expected readings. Case-Shiller report on housing was better than expected, but still showed housing prices fell overall. Today’s market closed was a bit disappointing as the major indexes clsoed off their highs. While today’s green close is a step in the right direction there is much more work to be had if this market wants to rebound. Angela Merkel’s debt sharing comments did send stocks immediately lower, but the market was able to rebound and push higher. Perhaps mutual funds looking to deploy cash for month end reporting had something to do with the move, but anything is possible. The action today was very much like Friday’s market action trying to recover from prior day losses. We remain in sell mode despite the rally today. Tomorrow we get durable goods figures at 830 followed by pending home sales at 10am. However, market pundits will likely look to Thursday’s arrival for first quarter annualized GDP figures. The market is looking for growth of 1.9%. Our economy is not humming along as it should and worse of all we are bumping up against the business cycle. Every 4-6 years the economy enters into a slowdown and by all indications our economy is about to enter into one. Any disappointment should usher in lower equity prices, but we’ll simply follow where the market will take us. Who knows? A very negative number could usher in a new round of quantitative easing! In the end price matters and rules above all else. Price destruction going on with European stock indexes is quite extraordinary. Germany, Spain, and Italy are three looking mighty vulnerable at the moment. All three remain in downtrends and especially scary is the German DAX index. The Germans are the ones holding up the Euro and with the weakness in their stock market certainly speaks volumes. Europe will drive a lot of the conversation and certainly will weigh on the minds of traders globally. Cut those losses short and enjoy the ride.

NASDAQ Leads the General Market Lower

Despite positive news from the Dallas Fed Manufacturing survey and new home sales data the market sold off. The NASDAQ led the decline closing lower by 1.95% followed by the Russell 2000 down 1.71%. Volume overall was lower than Friday, but Friday’s volume was exaggerated by the annual Russell rebalance. Price action is most important with the averages closing off their lows, but overall price action continues to be weak. It appears now Friday’s market was merely propped up; engineered to assist with the Russell rebalance. We remain in sell mode and today’s sell off confirms we are in a very weak market. We can certainly blame Europe for our woes, but in the end price is all that matters. Commentary on whether or not Europe’s troubles or the United States fiscal cliff is to blame really is nonsense. Price will always lead and by the time you get done figuring out what may or may not happen the opportunity to take advantage may pass you buy. Even worse, if you are wrong do you know where you get out? In addition to following price you must practice a sound money management discipline. What good are entries if your exits are poor? Money management is certainly something many traders have yet to master. Where do you exit? When do you exit a losing or winning position? Have a sound plan on when you exit a position and execute that plan. Do not let your emotions take you away from your game plan. Your emotions are one of the hardest things to master and it is vital you do so to become a successful trader. We are still witnessing a lot of downside pressure on plenty of stocks. INTC is one of them, but there are others. Signals on the short side as well as inverse ETFs are presenting themselves to us. After Thursday’s rejection at the 50 day moving average for the NASDAQ we are still primed to test June lows. Perhaps we can turn things around and head higher, but there is a ton of overhead resistance. One can look at Thursday and figure it out. Remember, we are in sell mode at Big Wave Trading and will act accordingly. We have yet to see the situation turn for us to get long this stock market. Get a game plan and join Big Wave Trading!

More Twist, No QE as Stocks End Flat

The story of the day was the Federal Reserve and its actions. With very little on the economic front the market turned and waited on the Federal Reserve to deliver its rate and policy announcement. Failing to initiate a third round of quantitative easing the Federal Reserve did extend its “Operation Twist” until the end of the year. Stocks reacted in volatile fashion and during Bernanke’s testimony, but finally settling near the unchanged level as volume fell on the day. Taking a step back we saw a good day of consolidating the recent gains. Avoiding any further deterioration will be a must for us to continue on a new uptrend. Gold and crude oil did not react as if there was going to be immediate action by the fed to pump more liquidity in the market. Crude was down more than 4% at the stock market close a big tell the trend in crude remains to the downside. Gold finished down roughly 1% on the day as both commodities continue to act as if the Federal Reserve will not print any money any time soon like the equity market. It is quite clear stocks are expecting the fed to step in with further easing to support the market. At the end of the day we follow price and where it goes we do. Opinions mean very little. Listening to Bernanke during his press conference it is apparent he is looking for Congress to get its house in order. The unfortunate part of the quantitative easing is in order for it to work properly budgets must be balanced. Continuing to raise the debt burden only acts as a drag on the economy. Sure short-term bursts of debt are okay and manageable. However, massive debt spending over extended periods of time coupled with money printing is very flammable. History has provided enough evidence when money printing goes unchecked, fiat currencies always dissolve or evolve causing very painful contractions. We need our fiscal policy in order to avoid financial disaster down the road. Luckily we have price as our guide and we’ll be taking full advantage. The future is unknown and while many will try to predict what will happen know one actually knows. Using a rule based system allows us to focus on what matters and ignore the junk you hear from the financial media. Cut those losses and let your winners run.

NASDAQ Captures its 50 Day as Volume Rises ahead of the FOMC

Another good day for the markets as leading stocks continued to see breakouts. Volume rose on the day, but remained below its 50 day volume average. The market was able to ignore poor housing starts while building permits picked up more than expected. European markets closed higher calming fears over economic collapse in the Eurozone. Small cap stocks lead the market today with the Russell 2000 rising 1.8%. The NASDAQ was able to close with gains of 1.19%, but last hour selling did knock the index off its perch. We are not about to argue with the market and the rise over the past few days has been on better volume and we’ll follow the market’s lead. Tomorrow’s FOMC rate decision along side Bernanke answering questions from reporters will certainly have the market on its toes. Certainly we would want to avoid any sort of major meltdown ruining the current uptrend in the market. While we haven’t gotten a strong confirmation day if this market can avoid heavy distribution the better chances we have of continuing the trend. It is anyone’s guess what the FOMC will do, but given the recent testimony from Bernanke QE3 is not a likely scenario despite the market begging for it. Bernanke needs a plan out of DC of getting our debt under control by running surpluses. Without a plan it is very difficult to introduce a third round of easing with risks of skyrocketing commodity prices. In the end, no one knows what the FOMC will decide on and it is prudent to follow price. Switching gears and focusing on price the NASDAQ was able to regain its 50 day moving average. This is a very good sign for the market. Of course we’ll need to see the NASDAQ hold onto this moving average, but for now we have a significant development. In addition, we have quite a few leading stocks breaking out. They will need to continue the positive action for it to be a positive for the market. If we get headfakes from these leaders it will be a signal to get defensive. Right now, we have a green light from the market. Tomorrow will be an interesting day and it will be fun watching the action. Cut those losses!

Big Wave Trading Portfolio Update And Top Current Holdings

“The less I cared about whether or not I was wrong, the clearer things became, making it much easier to move in and out of positions, cutting my losses short to make myself mentally available to take the next opportunity.” – Mark Douglas “Obviously you don’t want to overhaul a program in response to one year just because something didn’t work. That’s when you’re almost guaranteed that it would have worked the next year had you kept it in there. –James Klingler, Eclipse Capital, MAR, April 2002, Issue No. 278″ The Big Wave Trading model remains under a NEUTRAL signal. As it stands, the model will either switch to a BUY signal with a move above the 50 day moving average on above average volume (a low average volume move would not trigger it) or a SELL signal with a break below the 200 day moving average. The new BUY signal would be very weak and will have us only deploying small amounts of capital in 1x ETFs and select high-quality high-priced stocks. The only way any BUY signal will move the accounts into going 200% all-in would be a move of 2%+ on volume 25% higher than average on the Nasdaq or Russell 2000 with many dynamic leading high-quality stocks making strong moves on large volume. Unless there is massive volume in the market and stocks, we are not interested in going heavily long here. That is, of course, unless, we get another round of Quantitative Easing. If that is the case, the market is going to lift higher, and we will not stand in its way. We will join the melt-up by getting long 1x ETFs and following other high-price high-quality stocks higher but we will avoid margin. Before we even think of using any margin, like I said, we are going to need to see volume and green charts everywhere. These normally come only after a large correction has hit the market. We have not had a large correction for 3+ years. Every time we try to start a real correction to reset conditions so that new growth can come, we have the Fed intervene in all its glorious wisdom. Now, if we fail here and breakdown below the 200 day moving average on volume, I will go long 3x inverse ETFs in my IRA and will adjust the size to the strength and conviction of the breakdown. If we selloff on low volume, our model will take small 3x inverse ETF long positions. The risk accounts will continue to trade any and all breakdowns in individual stocks that have either rallied 300% or more from the 2009-now QE-fueled uptrend and/or stocks that are breaking down or reversing on strong volume that have no earnings and no sales growth. For now, it is NEUTRAL time, heading into the Greek elections. It does appear the market wants to move up here but as we have seen for 1 1/2 years now what we think should happen continuously doesn’t. One final note. Big Wave Trading never holds losers. If we take a position in a stock/ETF and it does not move in our direction immediately, we begin reducing our position. Losses are never tolerated. They are eliminated immediately when our idea is proven incorrect. Top Current Holdings – Percent Return – Date of Signal AVD – 80% – 1/10/12 BVSN short – 73% – 3/19/12 LQDT – 56% – 2/1/12 MNST – 56% – 1/13/12 MAGS short – 34% – 4/18/12 CAMP – 32% – 4/26/12 VRNM short – 30% – 4/10/12 SINO short- 30% – 4/12/12 PRXI short – 26% – 3/30/12 PHMD short – 25% – 5/11/12

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I penned this last weekend but am finally getting around to post this on this blog site.

Rumors of Central Banks Moving to Provide Liquidity Help Lift Stocks

Good news for consumers as CPI dropped, but a worse than expected jobless claims figures continues to show the weakness in the job market. The big story of the day was rumors of a joint strike by central bankers to provide liquidity to the market. Money printing operations has already pumped over $6 trillion into the market and we continue to see the need for more. Stocks did get a big boost, but failed to retake Wednesday’s high. Volume jumped on the NYSE and NASDAQ, but it continues to be very light and below average. Not too many institutions were out buying the rumor over further easing. The market continues to search for direction on day 9 of this attempted rally. Tomorrow we get quadruple witching Friday and you can bet volume will be explosive during the early going. The market will certainly be adjusting to where traders want to be positioned for the Greek elections on Father’s day. A secret “poll” was released in Greece sending Greek stocks higher ahead of this weekend’s elections, but does it even matter? Given the Spailout the Greek’s will want similar terms and then what? Can Italy borrow even more at 7% while only collecting 3%? Is piling more debt on top of debt going to work this time? This is precisely why following price and not guessing where the market will be is much more efficient way of producing superior gains from the market. Sentiment this week tipped the scales back to neutral with bears falling to 36% while bulls jumped to 34%. Neutral market participants continue to be the main driving force of sentiment. Respondents are simply not willing to step in either direction, something we haven’t seen from the market in a long time. The next major move will certainly be powerful with the number of neutral market participants remain very elevated. Happy Father’s day to those dads out there who do their job! Get out and enjoy the weekend and life!

Stocks Try to Recoup Yesterday’s Losses in Mixed Trade

European fears remain, but rumors of the Federal Reseve moving towards quantitative easing part three brought buyers back into the market. Gold and silver jumped on the news, but both precious metals remain well off their highs. Early trading saw sellers give way to buyers as the market was fed rumors of of further easing by the Fed. It appears the only thing that will get buyers into this market is for the Federal Reserve to simply print money. Today’s market wasn’t too exciting with volume well below average. We again, failed to produce a follow-through for the most recent rally attempt and we continue to remain in on shaky ground. The price gains were solid today despite the tepid volume. What we’d really like to have seen is gains well above 1.5% with volume jumping above yesterday’s level AND above average. Today was day 7 of an attempted rally and while follow-through days can occur after day 7 they tend not to produce tremendous gains. In addition, this is June and June follow-through days have only once produced a viable rally. At this point in the rally attempt given Monday’s action it feels highly unlikely we’ll see a successful follow-through day. If we do get one we’ll act accordingly, but for now a follow-through day is not likely. The intraday swings we are experiencing continue to widen. The VIX still remains relatively low considering the move we have experienced since the start of May. It appears market participants are not THAT fearful of future volatility. Just looking at the past 5 trading days the market has swung quite a bit between the intraday high/low. While this may end up being meaningless, but increasing intraday swings without further price movement tends to be bearish for the market. If we were moving higher it would be a different story. Last Thursday and Monday’s reversals are not ideal in this market and we’ll need a big push above those highs to get this rally going. Always cut those losses! Getting in is half the battle.

Markets Say No to Spailout, Stage Big reversal

The EU bailout of Spanish banks was received well when the futures market first opened Sunday evening. Sellers dominated the day as the markets sniffed out and disapproved of the Spailout. US equity markets did enjoy a good start, but selling was unforgiving and relentless heading into the close. Volume was higher than Friday’s dismal showing. At this time, volume is not going to matter as price action is clearly on the negative side. Price action says it all and it is not saying good things about this market. Not helping matters was AAPL’s big reversal despite its annual June meeting. AAPL did not announce any new amazing new product like apple TV or a new iPhone. The stock now appears to be failing at its key 50 day moving average suggesting May’s lows may be the next target of the stock. GOOG has already had a head start on AAPL as the stock put in an ugly reversal day. Both tech giants do not look healthy at this point and will continue to put tremendous pressure on the NASDAQ if selling continues. Volatility kicked it up a notch today getting support as the market digested the news out of Europe. The VIX jumped right off its 50 day moving average today and certainly shows a bit of a fear coming back into the market. At May’s lows the market failed to produce any sort of capitulation. The VIX never made it above 30 a key level where panic enters the market. Until panic enters the market we’ll likely continue to see lower lows and lower highs in this market. Adding to the mess we call a market will be options expiry. Greek elections are being held on Sunday and combining the elections with Spailout options expiry will certainly add layer of complexity. It is crucial we stick to price action of the market rather than guessing what might happen if the Greek elections go one way or another. After today it is pretty clear the bias is still negative. Stick to your stops and cut your losing positions. Your long term success in the market depends on it.

Big Wave Trading Portfolio Update And Top Current Holdings

The Big Wave Trading portfolios switched from a SELL to NEUTRAL signal intraday on 6/6/12 as the Nasdaq rose 1.5%+. The heavier volume selling was drying up before the switch and we warned that a switch was coming last week. That indeed was the case this week. If the next switch of the model is to SELL, this second confirming SELL signal (confirming because the most recent SELL signal was profitable with a 3% gain on QQQ short) will be a strong signal and we will be increasing our short positions accordingly. As of now, Big Wave Trading is very heavy cash. If any new BUY signal comes without volume confirmation it will be a very weak signal and trading will be initiated accordingly. Our model, following all the recent distribution the past three months will not have a strong BUY signal until the market averages can produce a 2%+ gain on volume 25% above the 50 day volume average. Leading stocks via Relative Strength and EPS/sales growth must also confirm the move. It is summer time and we warned investors that it would be choppy and consist of lower volume. The only meaningful move we expect is a move to the downside, if a move does occur. During the past twenty years only one Follow-Through day has led to a rip roaring bull market–twenty years ago in 1992. During the past 12 years only two BUY signals during the summer have generated any meaningful gains– in 2000 in leading stocks and 2009 with the market model/leading stocks. The data is what it is. Price is our ultimate tell and we will invest accordingly. Volume is our guide as to how much capital we will use when price produces a signal. We continue to keep our trades small until the next perfect setup occurs. On the long side, there has not been one since SLXP setup in March (it failed that setup) and the last successful one was LQDT on 2/1/12. On the short side there has not been one since BVSN in early March and PRXI in late March. The most important rule right now is cutting our losses short. If we take a position and it does not move in our favor immediately, in this tape, we begin selling until the final cut loss is hit. We are not playing games in this tape. Cash is king, as of this moment right now. By Monday, it could be completely different. However, the chances of that happening is very slim. Aloha and have a great weekend everyone. Top Current Holdings – Percent Return – Date of Purchase LQDT – 76% – 2/1/12 BVSN short – 76% – 3/16/12 AVD – 74% – 1/10/12 MNST – 51% – 1/13/12 VRNM short – 36% – 4/10/12 PHMD short – 34% – 5/11/12 MAGS short – 34% – 4/18/12 PRXI short – 29% – 3/30/12 SINO short – 29% – 4/12

Bernanke Fails to Mention QE3; Fitch Warns of US Downgrade Sends Stocks Lower

The NASDAQ reversed its gains in a big way after the Fed Chairman does not mention further quantitative easing. To add insult to injury Fitch warned of a possible US downgrade if a viable debt plan was not forged. Preliminary volume figures does show volume was lower on the day, but the day’s action hints at how shaky this market is at this point in the game. Economic news was a non-factor and the market action centered on the Fed and Fitch. This market remains on unstable ground and we continue to lack the necessary conviction to get any sustainable rally. Ben Bernanke’s testimony was quite clear he wanted to shift the burden away from the Federal Reserve and onto policy makers. Fiscal policy has been non-existent since the Obama administration has taken office. We had a policy from the Bush administration, but it was terrible as it simply added to our debt by running unsustainable deficits. At this point, the Federal Reserve Chairman seems to be in a holding pattern until the folks on the hill get together and form a fiscal policy. We can dream of running surpluses and lowering our national debt, but it appears this is just a pipe dream. Cash seems the place to be as the market certainly has signaled a lack of direction. Sellers have appeared to dry up here at the lows, but buyers aren’t coming out in droves to scoop up shares. LULU a former leading stock was hit hard today while CMG and AAPL appear to be on the verge of heading lower. Not the type of action you would normally see in an emerging rally. While we can still move higher from here the likely hood it is sustainable is not very high. Price will always dictate our actions and we will act accordingly. However, the the information from the market in front of us our confidence is very low this rally is going to push much higher. Remember, the last Federal Reserve Bank stress test one assumption was the S&P 500 was down 50%. To think after a small correction from March highs the Federal Reserve would step in is quite overzealous. If the market needs money printing that badly we are all in deep trouble. Cut those losses.

Stocks Rally on Higher Volume as the Fed Releases its Beige Book

Homebuilders and Financials lead the market higher as traders shake off the impending disaster facing Europe. Buyers stepped up their operations in the early going and continued with them until the one o’clock hour. Heading into the release of the beige book the market turn a turn lower fearing what the Fed may or may not say. Volume rose on the day, but failed to explode higher. After the release the market was able to find its footing and push to the highs of the day closing at the highs. Day 3 of another attempted rally produced a follow-through day and we’ll now adjust and act accordingly. While this day could have been better it certainly wasn’t all that bad. June follow-throughs are not likely to succeed. Only one has been successful and that was June of 1992. Odds are not in the bulls favor here as we continue to push forward. It wouldn’t surprise me to see distribution hit the market sooner rather than later with the macro picture. Given the current price and volume action of the market it appears the market is poised to push higher and it is prudent to follow. There were a few leading stocks pushing higher, but many of them had huge price gains today. It is hard to get into a stock after it pushes 5-10% higher in one day. This isn’t 1999 when a jump of this magnitude was the norm. Unfortunately, the type of market we saw in 1999 only comes around once every few generations. It would be nice to get a new crop of leaders to show us this rally attempt has some legs behind it. It isn’t out of the question this market can’t climb back to its 50 day, but gaming where the market goes will be fruitless. Follow price. A rally does appear to be underway and how far and long it will go is anyones guess. Allow price to be your guide! Cut those losses short.

New Seeking Alpha Article: 4 Gold Stocks For A Bear Market

4 Gold Stocks For A Bear Market

Market Finds Relief, but Volume Fades

The NASDAQ managed to regain its 200 day moving average, but light trade confirms institutions aren’t willing to stick their necks out supporting this market. A positive ISM Non-manufacturing figure gave a bit of a boost to the markets. However, the European close provided sellers an excuse to tackle the market. In the end, the markets put in a nice day of gains. We are still a long ways away from getting a healthy market with the lack of volume on the upside. Until we see improvement we’ll continue to see lackluster trading. The fear trade lost traction today as the VIX lost its 200 day today. The index regained its 200 day Friday of last week when the NASDAQ and S&P 500 dove below their respective 200 day moving average. We did not see panic rush into the market during this decline. Panic begins with the VIX racing above the 30 level and so far investors have yet to panic. Sentiment is on the bearish side, but actions have yet to show any capitulation. Tomorrow we’ll get a few economic releases, but the big one will come out at 2pm eastern standard time. The Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book and the market will certainly get active around its release. Every market pundit is foaming at the mouth with the possibility of the Federal Reserve introducting another round of Quantatitve Easing. It is a sad state of affairs when the addict can only survive on the drug. For trend followers we simply do not care if QE will show up or not. Price will always be the first mover and we want to be onboard. Drop the opinions and follow price! Believe it or not today is Day 2 of another attempted rally for the stock market. It is nice we are above the 200 day for this rally attempt. At this point a rally confirmation is on the low end of the spectrum. We failed to see any panic/capitulation in the market and have yet to see any high volume reversal to the upside. However, a confirmation day here would certainly change our tune in the short-term. Until then, we’ll wait patiently and continue to operate under a sell signal. Cut those loses short.

Stocks end Mixed as Volume Slumps

Headlines over the weekend were quite dismal stoking the fire further over the European crisis. The market set aside the fear and jumped to the highs of the day right out of the gate. Factory orders were on the light side sending the market lower. From 10 am forward the market would oscillate throughout the day settling mixed on the session. Volume was lower on the day, but again low volume is par for the course for Mondays. This market is still searching for a bottom here and our trend is still down. Another new low was set today and a lower low at that. April’s high was the lower high we have mentioned in the past and with the market continuing to set lower lows the bear tightens its grip on this market. Sentiment is negative, but we have yet to see any panic get into the market. We may not see panic selling, but we still have yet to see any high volume reversal to signal a possible rebound. In 2011, we saw the market sell off and rally back to new highs a few times before the August sell-off. So far, we haven’t seen the ability for this market to find a bottom. It would be nice for a bit to ignore what is going on in Europe. The situation in Europe feels like it has been going on since the Bear Stearns collapse. However, Greece two years ago kicked off the crisis. There is a lot of commentary on the ramifications of Greece leaving the Euro versus staying and this goes for the other EU countries. When you get right down to it we’ll be hearing about this situation for a long time coming. At some point markets will simply sniff out the plan and price accordingly. The real bogey here is what is going to happen with the Fiscal Cliff and a renewed debt ceiling debate. Tear the band-aid off fast and do what is necessary. It is safe to say many will be predicting the outcome for the stock market. Many will be wrong of course and the trend followers will win. We only care about price and sticking with the trend. This is how wealth is created and built upon. Make this week a great one!

Big Wave Trading Portfolio Update And Top Current Holdings

The Big Wave Trading portfolios remain under a SELL signal generated on 5/4/12. The current market environment continues to weaken as stocks among all sectors (even defensive–outside of gold) are breaking down. The BWT portfolios will continue to work the short side (long side with Gold) until a real uptrend returns. We do not expect an uptrend to return to the stock market until at least October. While we are short, we understand that the crowd is already getting scared and this could produce a bounce back to the 50 day moving average. Even if this does occur the BWT system model will not be switching to a BUY signal until accumulation starts to clearly outstrip distribution. The bottom line is that individual stock and ETF charts are broken in every sector, outside of the dollar, treasury bills, gold, and gold miners. Until these other stocks can correct themselves with some consolidation on lower volume followed by breakouts on strong volume, any NEUTRAL or BUY signal will be weak and unimportant. It is going to take time to correct the damage that has occurred. There is not much else to add as we have been under a SELL signal for a month now. It is summer time and while it is supposed to be a time of “living easy (Sublime reference)” it is clearly not for the stock market. Until the price/volume action changes on the overall market indexes by a wide margin on the accumulation/distribution readings, we will continue to recommend 100% cash for the public retail investors and short positions for active traders/investors. Aloha everyone and have a wonderful upcoming week. Top Current Holdings – Percent Return – Date of Signal BVSN short – 76% – 3/16/12 AVD – 75% – 1/10/12 LQDT – 65% – 2/1/12 UVXY – 62% – 5/9/12 MNST – 40% – 1/13/12 VRNM short – 34% – 4/10/12 PHMD short – 34% – 5/11/12 MAGS short – 33% – 4/18/12 PRXI short – 33% – 3/30/12 SINO short – 32% – 4/12/12 ABR – 25% – 2/29/12