Markets responded to a weak jobs report with gusto Monday, indicating that the bad news is good news scenario is still in play. That was not the case in the early morning hours as futures were lower near the tune of 1%. The Nasdaq rose .6%, and clearly being the leading benchmark this year bounced off its 50 day SMA. The S&P 500 recaptured its own 50 day SMA advancing .7%. Volume was not as enthusiastic as bulls would have hoped. For instance the S&P 500 began last week with a nice 1.2% jump, but trade was uncooperative. The falling greenback has given energy bulls something to rest their hats on as many names in the group acted firmly Monday. MTDR rose by 10% and is now just 15% off all time highs made on 7/1/14 where it was unsurprisingly halted at the round 30 number. PXD remains 26% off its recent 52 week highs, but has been lower just 6 weeks since the huge 16.3% weekly gain the week ended 12/19. This name is now sniffing out its 200 day SMA near the 180 handle and a move above would be the first occurrence since late last September. Regarding ETFs in the space we fancy the XOP. The fund is sporting a cup base pivot point of 54.31, above the intraweek high made the week ending 2/20 which was preceded by a 4 week winning streak between the weeks ended 1/23-2/13 which rose by nearly 20%. Could be a “crude” awakening for oil bears going forward.

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