ChartSmarter Monday Game Plan 2/24/14

Markets were quiet Friday to close out the week with all the major benchmarks going out on the UNCH mark. The leading Nasdaq tacked on another .5% for the week, padding solid gains of last weeks almost 3% move. Bullish behavior for sure as the index is enjoying a 3 week winning streak. It has gained ground 9 of the last 11 sessions and is up almost 3% YTD. The S&P 500 is still underwater in 2014 down .6%, and finishing this week down .1%. Energy put in a decent week with the XLE up for 3 consecutive weeks, although this ETF is really bogged down by its top 2 components XOM CVX which account for almost 30% of the fund. That being said it backed off almost precisely at its 87.32 double bottom trigger the last 3 days of this week. Important evidence as to why we demand CLOSES above triggers. XLE closed almost 1% lower as all of the top ten holdings fell, with OXY HAL (we are long HAL) finishing close to flat. EOG still looks best to me as it trades just above its cup with handle breakout pivot of 176.98 it took out on Tuesday. Some secondary indicators, of course to price and volume action, are flashing mixed signals. Short interest on the NYSE which is often gauged to indicate the sentiment of shorts which could add fuel to an ongoing rally, has fallen precipitously this year by almost 20%. On the flip side bullish investment advisers also continue to descend, almost certainly being spooked by the weak January we just experienced. As goes January, so goes the year the old adage says. How long will it take these managers to jump back on the bull train, or are they all canaries in the coal mine?