Stocks Charts

The stock market certainly delivered some pre-Holiday fireworks with the Dow gaining 648 points to log its best week in approximately two years. The move came in response to “relief” over a Greece “solution” which we’ll discuss in more detail in a moment, and on thin Holiday volume which, in my opinion, made the rally less impressive than would otherwise be the case. The coming Holiday shortened week promises to be exciting, as well. On My Wall Street Radar Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com The sharp rally last week took prices back into heavy resistance as witnessed on the S&P 500 (SPY) chart above.  You can see how MACD is in an upward trend and RSI is reaching overbought levels. Also, there were several gap opens during the week which are typically “filled” at some point in the future.  In spite of the fireworks, we’re still very much locked inside the recent sideways pattern. The Economic View From 35,000 Feet The economic view remains troubling as the rally was...

Standard Motor Products (SMP) isn't a flashy social-networking company, but what it does have is earnings and a very compelling valuation. That and rising estimates makes this Zacks #1 stock a strong momentum player. Company Description Standard Motor Products, Inc. manufactures and sells replacement parts for motor vehicles in the auto aftermarket industry in the US, Canada and Latin America. The company was founded in 1919 and has a market cap of $338 million. Standard has been chugging higher for the last 6 months, recently hitting a new multi-year high on strong Q1 results from early May that came in well ahead of expectations. First-Quarter Results Revenue for the period was up 23% from last year to $220 million. Earnings also came in strong at 31 cents, 72% ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, where the company has an average earnings surprise of 111% over the last four quarters. Although the company said the good quarter was driven by strength in all its distribution channels, CEO...

Are the steel companies the first to see a slowdown? If so, Reliance Steel & Aluminum Company (RS) isn't seeing one. First quarter sales continued to be strong. Investors, however, have been fleeing the stock in recently weeks on worries over the economy which is why it now trades with a P/E of just 10x forward estimates. This Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) provides metals processing services through more than 200 locations in 38 states, and several countries including Mexico, China, South Korea and Canada. Headquartered in Los Angeles, its products include galvanized, hot-rolled and cold-finished steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, copper, titanium and alloy steel. Solid Q1 Results On Apr 28, Reliance Steel reported its first quarter results and surprised on the Zacks Consensus by 15%. Earnings were $1.23 compared with the estimate of $1.07 per share. The company made just 60 cents in the year ago quarter. It was the third surprise in the last 4 quarters, although if you look at the...