ChartSmarter Monday Game Plan 12/22/14

Markets finished the week Friday with their 3rd consecutive daily gains with the leading Nasdaq higher by .4%. For the week it rose 2.4% which seemed unlikely after Monday and Tuesdays 2.3% combined losses. But the tech heavy index bounced back in a big way, gaining back more than 200 handles from intraweek lows and is now higher by 14.1% YTD, almost doubling 2014 gains for the Dow at 7.4%. The S&P 500 rose 3.4% for the week, after spending brief time below the round 2000 handle, and is higher by 12% YTD. Both benchmarks rose in very active trade which was skewed somewhat by the expiration Friday. The fourth V shaped recovery this year is now upon us and lets see how this current one plays out. The energy group continues fascinating to monitor as the XLE recorded a bullish outside week gaining almost 9% in the second largest weekly volume of 2014. The groups turnaround seemed to emerge after the JNK’s capitulation day Monday. Doing Monday morning quarterbacking it was foreshadowing for the energy sectors reversal. Many names in the space are starting to emerge as potential leaders once again, but the charts still have plenty of work to do. A name like PXD rose everyday last week gaining 16.3%, but still rests 35% from recent all time highs. It has room to its 50 day SMA at 164 which repeatedly has curtailed its momentum since the break below it 8/1. One caveat, is the Barron’s front page story this week. Price action is the only thing that pays remember, but lets see if they are premature in their call.