The indices returned to their winning ways on Thursday as all four moved higher. They all opened higher and remained there throughout the day.
The Russell was the top performer with a gain of 1.83% and the Nasdaq followed with a move of 1.23%. The S&P moved up 1.09% and the Dow was right behind it with a gain of 1.08%.
Nine of the 10 sectors moved higher on Thursday with only the materials sector failing to move higher. The sector lost 0.37% on the day.
On the plus side, the energy sector led the way again and this time it was a gain of 2.2%. The tech sector had the second best performance with a gain of 1.54%. Three other sectors finished with gains over 1.0%.
After five straight positive results, my scans turned slightly negative last night with 18 bearish signals and 14 bullish signals.
The barometer dropped considerably with the shift in the scan results. The reading last night was 44.9, down from 78.7.
After five straight bullish trade ideas, I have a bearish one for you today. Crown Castle International (NYSE: CCI) appeared on the bearish list, but the fundamentals are actually pretty good. The EPS rating is an 84 and the SMR rating is a B. Obviously with the fundamentals being that good, the chart is the main driver behind this trade.
Looking at the daily chart we see that a trend channel has formed over the last seven months. The highs from January, November, and this week all connect to form the upper rail. The lows over the last six months loosely connect to form the lower rail. The stochastic indicators were in overbought territory and made a bearish crossover yesterday.
Buy to open the April 165-strike calls on CCI at $9.00 or better. These options expire on April 16, 2021. I suggest a target gain of 75% and that means the stock will need to drop to $149.25. The low in January was just below that level at $149.14, so the stock won’t have to reach a new low to hit our target. I recommend a stop at $168.00.
— Rick Pendergraft