Today's to-the-point recap comes from Bloomberg, "U.S. stocks rose, giving benchmark indexes their biggest rallies in a month, as higher forecasts from the International Monetary Fund and gains in Spanish bonds overshadowed declines in housing starts and factory production."
Two key takeaways from today:
- Volume was much lower than average, again. It is a noticeable trend now that down sessions are coming on heavier volume while rebound sessions lack volume. CANSLIM tells us institutions are moving out of the markets and further weakness should be expected.
- Intraday volatility is on the rise. For the first three months of 2012 volatility fell off and sessions of more than 1% movement from a market index were minimal. 6 out of the last 9 trading days saw 1%+ in movement. This is a warning flag as we've seen over the last few years that high volatility environments have come alongside weak market performance.
A look at the intraday action:
There were three big notable earnings reports after the bell today:
- IBM (IBM) - Earnings beat estimates however investors were not impressed. After hours -2.38% to $202.50. Full quote.
- Intel (INTC) - Earnings beat estimates but profit down 13%. After hours -2.77% to $27.68. Full quote.
- Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) - 5th straight quarter of double digit growth. After hours +5.89% to $577.67. Full quote.
Updated analysis below. Stay frosty out there!
