Markets reversed earlier gains Thursday and the lagging Nasdaq not surprisingly gave up the largest gains. The tech benchmark turned a respectable 1% gain around lunchtime into a .4% loss. It has now spent more than a month below its 50 day SMA since piercing it on 4/4 losing 2.6% that session. Volume was heavy, a poor technical sign. Cracks below that line are preferably in light volume and the moving average should be reclaimed quickly. The more time spent underneath that line the worse. The S&P 500 came with 11 handles of the round 1900 number and the way it has been shying away from that figure, one may assume it will be a burst above soon, or more heartache to come. Bearishness on the stream is becoming rampant and I wonder sometimes with the explosion of social media if that illuminates that contrarian signal. Energy was among the worst of sector performance today as some names that reported today were “drilled” hard, pun intended. GPOR was among the worst hit falling 18% and undercutting its 200 day SMA in the process. CLR dropped 4.5% in the heaviest daily volume in over one year. That name is a leader which adds to the concern, although it did finish above its 50 day SMA. LPI is a name that I had on my long watch list with a potential purchase above a 30.72 cup with handle pivot point and illustrates the importance of not trying to buy ahead, and instead to wait on price CONFIRMATION. That was a base that started 7 months ago in early November, and longer bases have a tendency to be more success prone. On to the next opportunity.

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