ChartSmarter Tuesday Game Plan 2/3/15

Markets swayed up and down to begin the month of February on a very positive note. The Nasdaq was lower by more than 1% early on in the session and managed to produce a strong reversal to finish higher by .9%. The S&P 500 dipped below the 2000 number intraday only to find a nice bounce near its 200 day SMA and ended up with a very respectable 1.3% advance. Energy was the best performing asset of the day as crude rose almost 3% to close near one month highs. The group has been responding better even when oil was heading lower showing some positive divergences. The sector still has a long way to go but it looks as if a nice bottoming process is ongoing. Many individual names within the group are forming bullish ascending triangle patterns just below their 50 day SMAs which have been resistant for sometime now. Looking over some energy ETFs the XOP stands out as a potential leader. Last week it GAINED 1.45% while the OIH and XLE lost 1 and 1.45% respectively. The XOP is the only one of the 3 now above its 50 day SMA as of today. The ETF is looking for a third consecutive weekly winning streak and with a 6% move today it is still early but off to a healthy start. It is now up 9 of the last 11 days and has formed a nice triangle that forms in conjunction with the round 50 handle. Those who may have jumped in above the 50 day SMA can add or initiate a position above the triangle at 50.25.