Stocks moved higher today but trading activity whimpered. This has become the common trend in the current market. Technology and Semiconductor stocks were laggards in the Nasdaq Composite (QQQQ) today. Complacency as measured through the Volatility Index (VIX) remained high and indicates investors are feeling greedy about owning stocks. Today's action was not enough to change the resistance level on the Nasdaq Composite and moved the resistance level on the S&P 500 (SPY) only slightly higher. We are keeping the support levels the same on the major indexes. See support/resistance levels below. The best approach based on the current stock market direction is to be cautious. Follow your trading rules for taking profits and cutting losses. If you need to own stocks, please see our watch list below. SUMMARY DJIA: Up 0.4% to 11,499 S&P 500: Up 0.6% to 1,243 Nasdaq Composite: Up 0.8% to 2,637 BREADTH FOR NYSE Advancing Issues: 2,008 Declining Issues: 981 Advance/Decline Ratio: 2 to 1 New Highs: 116 New Lows: 11 High/Low Ratio: 11 to 1 SUPPORT/RESISTANCE LEVELS DJIA: 11,444/11,503 S&P 500: 1,226/1,245 Nasdaq Composite: 2,580/2,638 SECTOR ANALYSIS Industrials was the best performing sector up 1.1% while Financials was the worst performing sector up 0.1%. Other Sectors: Consumer Discretionary Up 0.7% Consumer Staples Up 0.9% Energy Up 0.6% Health Care Up 0.7% Materials Up 0.9% Technology Up 0.2% Utilities Up 0.9% WATCH LIST SYMBOLS (APOL)-since 10/28/10 (SH)-since 11/12/10 (NUVA)-since 11/12/10 (CSCO)-since 12/2/10 (PSQ)-since 12/8/10 (UUP)-since 12/8/10 (EUO)-since 12/8/10 (RWM)-since 12/16/10 No position in securities mentioned. www.btdstocks.com
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Posted In:
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!