ChartSmarter Friday Game Plan 2/5/16

Markets gyrated once again between gains and losses as many market participants remain flummoxed. If one can not admit the depiction of that last statement they can not be truly honest with themselves. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 managed to eke out small gains of .1%. We have been offered more earnings reports to digest and today many were not surprising as laggards disappointed, but some leaders were weak as well. RL, not immune to big drawdowns after releasing numbers slumped more than 20% Thursday, and exactly one year earlier it slid 18.2% on 2/4/15. Perhaps there are some seasonality issues there, but the stock is off almost 50% from recent 52 week highs. Retail peer KSS did not report today but declined almost 20% after cutting guidance. Retail leader LB caught people off guard losing 7% and undercutting its 200 day SMA in the process. CLX slashed 5% as the staple could not satisfy investors which have had an affinity for the space as of late. When people are not purchasing bleach, one gets the melancholy mood of the consumer. Of course yesterday we saw names like MDLZ and MTCH disappoint. When consumers are avoiding Oreo’s and online dating one has to ponder. Oil names were not on the buy list of investors Thursday, but the group by and large has been acting a little better under the surface recently. Every time they lead the chorus grows louder that we need to see better leadership. When we hear this incessantly one has to wonder if the group is quietly being accumulated under the surface. I think one can start a shopping list and start legging into names in the sector. COP slashing its dividend is another development that needs to happen for the bottom to start lifting off. Some names in the pharma space acted well Thursday. Here is a name from the space we highlighted in Thursdays Game Plan off the round 50 handle.