BTDStocks.com Tuesday, January 18, 2011 End-Of-Day Update

After a lower open caused by the news Steve Jobs will be taking a leave of absence from Apple (AAPL) stocks were able to regain their ground and trade higher for most of today's trading session. Investor participation and market breadth were ok. As a result, we are raising the support/resistance levels on the DJIA (DIA), S&P 500 (SPY), and Nasdaq Composite (QQQQ) (see below). One item to take note of is the activity in the Volatility Index (VIX). Since mid-May 2010 the VIX has been on a steady decline making one new low after another. On Friday it closed at 15.46 which was .01 above its recent low of 15.45. Today the VIX was able to finish up 2.7% to 15.87 today. If the recent low holds then the VIX appears to be making a double bottom and a pickup in volatility and an overdue correction for stocks could follow. Opening new positions in stocks seems very risky right now based on the stock market direction. It is best to keep protecting your profits and quickly sell any trade that turns into a meaningful loss. If you need to own stocks, please see our watch list. To read full article, please visit: http://www.btdstocks.com/ No positions in securities mentioned.