ChartSmarter Wednesday Game Plan 3/5/14

Markets rallied hard Tuesday recapturing all of Mondays losses and then some. Action was what you would want from a healthy bull with healthcare, industrials and financials leading the way. Utilities were among the laggards. The XLU however has held the round 40 number last Thursday and Monday and now has the look of a bullish falling wedge. The recent action into today had us a bit concerned leading stocks breaking out were quickly faltering, a poor technical sign. Names like AKRX which took out a 26.26 cup base trigger on 2/21 fell apart quickly. Or a CRL which had taken out a 59.67 flat base pivot point on 2/27 and fell back beneath it losing 4% the following two sessions. That type of behavior does not inspire confidence. But the benchmarks continue to roll along as the Nasdaq hit new decade closing highs. The S&P 500 hit an all time high and seems like the round 1900 figure is like a magnet with the index gradually being pulled toward it. The German ETF EWG rallied nicely today but unlike the domestic benchmarks, was not able to recoup all of Mondays losses. It pierced its 50 day SMA in big trade Monday losing 3.4% and reclaimed it Tuesday advancing 2.3%. Looking on its weekly chart you would never see how wide and loose the daily chart is. The last 3 weeks on the EWG have all closed on a weekly basis within 14 cents of each other.