Monday saw mixed results for the indices with three moving higher with varying degrees of success and one index moved lower. The Nasdaq led the way with a gain of 0.71%. The S&P moved up 0.28% and was in positive territory all day.
The Dow was in negative territory for a good part of the day, but managed to move higher by 0.07% at the end of the day. The Russell fell 0.21%, but it was also in positive territory for a portion of the day.
[hana-code-insert name=’adsense-article’ /]The sectors experienced mixed results as well with six moving higher and four moving lower.The tech sector was the top performer on the day with a gain of 1.15%.
There was a decent drop off after that with the energy sector taking second place with a gain of 0.48%
The worst performance was turned in by the consumer staples sector which dropped 0.53%.
The materials sector fell 0.22% for the second worst performance.
The utilities sector and healthcare sector each declined 0.2%.
My scans turned in a second straight positive result on Monday with 34 names on the bullish list and 17 on the bearish list.
The barometer jumped to a reading of -2.6 from -23.3 and that is the best reading since July 2.
There was another theme to last night’s lists. Of the 17 names on the bearish list, 10 were gold and silver stocks and ETFs. Despite that theme, I have a different plan for today’s trade idea. The one stock that stood out for its chart and fundamentals was Keycorp (NYSE: KEY). The company scores an 82 on the EPS rating system and a B on the SMR scale.
The daily chart shows an upward sloped trend line connecting the lows from the last seven months. The stock didn’t quite get down to the trend line, but rather it seems to have found support at its 50-day moving average. We see that the daily stochastic readings touched the 20 level and have now turned higher and made a bullish crossover.
Buy to open the September 17-strike calls on KEY at $0.90 or better. These options expire on September 20.In order for these options to double the stock will need to reach $18.80. That price is above the most recent high, but below the 52-week high. I suggest a target gain of 100% and I would suggest closing the trade if the stock closes below the 50-day moving average.
— Rick Pendergraft
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