Technically speaking, the S&P did finally close back above the 50-day moving average today after spending a few weeks below, says Steve Reitmeister, editor of Reitmeister Total Return.
But calling a breakout on to end last week is tricky business. Often you get an extreme move at the end of the week that can easily be reversed as folks sleep on it over the weekend.
Then again, when there was never really a fundamental reason to question the health of the bull market, then we all knew the pullback was not going to last for long. So with earnings season starting off hot, thanks to the banks, we could very well be testing the recent highs of 4,545 very soon.
The good news is that our overall portfolio continues to excel with a year-to-date tally of +30.68% which nicely tops the +19.04% for the S&P (and 14.72% for Russell 2000).
It’s hard to see the progress sometimes when you have such recent duds like Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc. (KLIC) that has fallen precipitously for reasons unknown. And yes, it is now “walking the green mile”. If the Governor doesn’t call soon with a pardon (aka higher prices), then it will “light this thing up”. (sorry to those who think this analogy is a shade too colorful...sometimes I just write it to make myself laugh ;-)
In better news, Best Buy (BBY) continues to recover from its recent stumble. Alibaba (BABA) is out of the gate in a strong fashion. And Schneider National (SNDR) stealthily climbs the RTR leader board.
There is very little economic news of great importance this week. So, it puts earnings season front and center. More companies reporting strength like the banks, and indeed, this pullback will be over with conversations of new highs in hand.
If that is what unfolds, then our portfolio should be making new highs as well. Then we will focus on their individual earnings reports starting with BYD on 10/26.
The best part of the POWR Ratings system is that deep dive into 118 different factors for each stock. Many of these factors are focused on the quality of their operations, increasing the likelihood of positive earnings reports ahead, which keeps shares on an upward trajectory. I look forward to that coming true once again this earnings season.
Learn more about Steve Reitmeister at StockNews.com.
