ChartSmarter Monday Game Plan 3/16/15

Markets ended the week Friday with losses although off their highs with a late afternoon push. The leading Nasdaq fell for a second straight week dropping 1.1% and is now higher by 2.9% YTD. The S&P 500 fell for a third consecutive week losing .8% and is now DOWN .3% in 2015 thus far. Energy prices continued to tumble this week with crude falling almost 5% alone on Friday. It has been getting clobbered from all sides with a firm greenback and strong supply. Looking at the OIH which lost 6% this week as is lower 12 of the last 18 sessions. It is currently on a 4 week losing streak and amazingly down 21 of the last 28 weeks. It has not been aided in the least bit by its top component SLB (comprises basically 1/5th of the fund) falling 7 consecutive sessions. The OIH has now formed a bearish descending channel pattern with 3 touches of the bottom horizontal line neat 31.75. Look to short the ETF with a sell stop below the pattern at 31.50 and it must CLOSE beneath that number. Of course in the cutthroat world of investing there will be winners and losers and benefitting from oils doldrums is the retail sector. The XRT rose 1.2% this week while the benchmarks lost ground. It is higher 5 of the last 6 weeks and before this week traded very taut with 4 weekly CLOSES all within .99 of each other just below the round par number.