Financial Tides -- A Stock Market Investing Newsletter by Jim Van Meerten: 2014-05-18

Friday, May 23, 2014

Blackstone Mortgage Trust - Barchart's Chart of the Day

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (BXMT) is the Barchart Chart of the Day. The REIT has a Trend Spotter buy signal, a Weighted Alpha of 10.90+, gained 10.22% in the last year and paid a 6.54% dividend yield.

The Chart of the Day is Blackstone Mortgage Trust (BXMT). I found the stock by sorting today's New High List for new high frequency in the last month, then used to Flipchart feature to find a chart I liked. Since the Trend spotter signaled another buy signal on 5/12 the stock gained 2.57%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (BXMT) is a real estate investment trust. It operates as a real estate finance and investment management company. The company's investment programs focuses on loans and securities backed by commercial real estate assets.

The status of Barchart's Opinion trading systems are listed below. Please note that the Barchart Opinion indicators are updated live during the session every 10 minutes and can therefore change during the day as the market fluctuates. The indicator numbers shown below therefore may not match what you see live on the Barchart.com web site when you read this report.

Barchart technical indicators:

96% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
15 new highs and up 4.01% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 74.39%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 29.26
Recently traded at 29.55 with a 50 day moving average of 28.71

Fundamental factors:

Market Cap $1.16 billion
P/E 26.92
Dividend yield 6.54%
Revenue expected to grow 232.90% this year and another 48.10% next year
Earnings estimated to increase 140.70% this year, an additional 16.40% next year and continue to increase annually at a rate of 10.00% for at least the next 5 years
Wall Street analysts issued 3 strong buy, 6 buy and 1 hold recommendation on the stock

This is an income stock with price momentum, Treat as a total return stock.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Sequential Brands Group - Barchart's Chart of the Day

Sequential Brands Group (SQBG) is the Barchart Chart of the Day. The licensing and brand management stock has a Trend Spotter buy signal, a Weighted Alpha of 91.90+ and gained 65.00% in the last year.

The Chart of the Day is Sequential Brands Group (SQBG). I found the stock by sorting today's New High List for new high frequency in the last month, then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts. Since the Trend Spotter signaled a buy on 3/3 the stock soared 67.23%.

SQBG is a licensing and brand management company focused on promoting, marketing and licensing a portfolio of consumer brands. The Company's brands include William Rast and People's Liberation. It licenses its brands with respect to a broad range of products, including apparel, eyewear, footwear and fashion accessories, including handbags, watches and luggage.

100% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
16 new highs and up 16.06% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 74.56%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 9.17
Recently traded at 9.85 with a 50 day moving average of 8.45

Fundamental factors:

Market Cap $249.01 million
P/E 26.33
Revenue expected to grow 36.40% this year and another 10.20% next year
Earnings estimated to be down 28.60% this year but up again by 24.00% next year and continue to increase at an annual rate of 15.00% for the next 5 years
Wall Street analysts issued 2 strong buy and 2 more buy recommendations on the stock

Closely watch the 50 day moving average for signs of momentum weakness and use the 100 day moving average as an exit point.

NASDAQ 100 Top Performers

This morning I used Barchart to find the NASDAQ 100 Index stocks that were having the best current price momentum. I sorted the Index for new high frequency in the last month, then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts and find the ones that were trading above their 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages.

Today's list includes Liberty Global (LBTYA), Sandisk (SNDK), Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD), Gilead Sciences (GILD), and Equinix (EQIX):

Liberty Global (LBTYA)

Barchart technical indicators:

80% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
13 new highs and up 13.47% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 77.76%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 43.16
Recently traded at 45.50 with a 50 day moving average of 41.49

Sandisk (SNDK)

Barchart technical indicators:

96% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
13 new highs and up 10.12% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 73.13%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 91.41
Recently traded at 93.61 with a 50 day moving average of 82.94

Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD)

Barchart technical indicators:

80% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
12 new highs and up 13.60% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 75.61%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 44.74
Recently traded at 45.66 with a 50 day moving average of 40.94

Gilead Sciences (GILD)

Barchart technical indicators:

80% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
12 new highs and up 13.44% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 66.59%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 80.19%
Recently traded at 82.66 with a 50 day moving average of 74.97

Equinix (EQIX0

Barchart technical indicators:

56% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
11 new highs and up 8.17% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 64.12%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 192.99
Recently traded at 194.86 with a 50 day moving average of 184.19

BARCHART MORNING CALL 5/22

BARCHART MORNING CALL

Thursday, May 22nd, 2014View Older Reports

Everything you need to know about the markets in one free daily newsletter.

You will also receive a free subscription to the Barchart family of newsletters.

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM14 +0.03%) this morning are up +0.05% at a 1-week high and European stocks are down -0.18%. U.S. stocks found support on stronger-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data, while European stocks slipped after German manufacturing activity rose at its slowest pace in 6 months. Asian stocks closed mostly higher: Japan +2.11%, Hong Kong +0.51%, China -0.22%, Taiwan +1.21%, Australia +1.02%, Singapore +0.12%, South Korea +0.35%, India +0.31%. China's Shanghai Stock Index shed early gains and closed lower despite the larger-than-expected increase in the China May HSBC manufacturing PMI to a 5-month high, while India's Sensex Stock Index posted another record high as it continues its recent bull run. Commodity prices are mixed. July crude oil (CLN14 -0.09%) is down -0.11%. July gasoline (RBN14 unch) is unch. Jun gold (GCM14 +0.79%) is up +0.68%. July copper (HGN14 +0.72%) is up +0.94%. Agriculture and livestock prices are mostly higher. The dollar index (DXY00 +0.08%) is up +0.04%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.09%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.19%. June T-note prices (ZNM14 -0.10%) are down -2.5 ticks.
The China May HSBC manufacturing PMI rose +1.6 to 49.7, better than expectations of +0.2 to 48.3 and the highest level in 5 months.
The German May Markit/BME manufacturing PMI fell -1.2 to 52.9, a larger decline than expectations of -0.1 to 54.0 and the slowest pace of expansion in 6 months.
The Eurozone May Markit composite PMI fell -0.1 to 53.9, right on expectations.
UK May CBI trends total orders rose +1 to 0, less than expectations of +4 to 3. May CBI trends selling prices unexpectedly fell -5 to 4, weaker than expectations of +1 to 10.
UK Apr public sector net borrowing rose +9.6 billion pounds, more than expectations of +3.4 billion pounds and the most in 5 months.
UK Q1 GDP was left unrevised at +0.8% q/q and +3.1% y/y, right on expectations, although Q1 private consumption was revised upward to +0.8% q/q from the originally reported +0.6% q/q and Q1 government spending was revised downward to +0.1% q/q from the originally reported +0.2% q/q.
The Japan May Markit/JMMA manufacturing PMI rose +0.5 to 49.9.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

Today’s weekly initial unemployment claims report is expected to show an increase of +13,000 to 310,000, reversing part of last week’s -24,000 decline to 297,000. Meanwhile, today’s continuing claims report is expected to show an increase of +8,000 to 2.675 million, reversing most of last week’s decline of -9,000 to 2.667 million. Today’s April existing home sales report is expected to show an increase of +2.2% to 4.69 million, more than reversing the small -0.2% decline to 4.59 million seen in March. Today’s April leading indicators report is expected to show an increase of +0.4%, adding to the sharp increase of +0.8% seen in March. The Treasury today will sell $13 billion of 10-year TIPS.
There are 7 of the S&P 500 companies that report earnings today: HP (consensus $0.88), Dollar Tree (0.66), Patterson (0.66), Best Buy (0.19), Ross Stores (1.15), Gap (0.57), GameStop (0.57). Equity conferences this week include: UBS Global Oil and Gas conference on Mon-Thu, UBS Global Financial Services Conference on Tue-Thu, BMO Capital Markets Farm to Market Conference on Wed-Thu, Medical Devices & Diagnostics Business Review on Thu, St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2014 on Thu, and Bloomberg Industries & CME Group Precious Metals Forum on Fri.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

Best Buy (BBY +2.80%) reported Q1 EPS of 33 cents, well ahead of consensus of 19 cents.
Signet Jewelers (SIG +2.13%) reported Q1 adjusted EPS of $1.29, better than consensus of $1.27.
Marathon Petroleum's Speedway (MPC -1.06%) will acquire Hess Retail (HES +1.44%) for $2.87 billion.
Dollar Tree (DLTR -2.19%) reported Q1 EPS of 67 cents, higher than consensus of 66 cents.
Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR -0.01%) was downgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Buy' at Roth Capital.
Sears (SHLD -3.66%) reported a Q1 EPS loss of -$3.79, over double consensus for a -$1.87 loss.
Patterson Companies (PDCO +0.91%) reported Q4 EPS of 61 cents, below consensus of 66 cents.
Raging Capital reported a 11.1% passive stake in GSI Technology (GSIT +1.09%) .
L Brands (LB +0.65%) reported Q1 EPS of 53 cents, higher than consensus of 52 cents.
Aegean Marine (ANW +2.53%) reported Q1 EPS of 11 cents, below consensus of 17 cents.
Williams-Sonoma (WSM +0.52%) climbed over 4% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 EPS of 48 cents, higher than consensus of 44 cents.
Spartan Stores (SPTN +0.74%) reported Q1 EPS of 40 cents, better than consensus of 38 cents.
According to Reuters, Reynolds American (RAI +4.38%) is in advanced negotiations to acquire Lorillard (LO +10.40%) .
Synopsys (SNPS +0.76%) reported Q2 EPS of 65 cents, higher than consensus of 59 cents.
NetApp (NTAP +1.59%) reported Q4 EPS of 84 cents, stronger than consensus of 79 cents.

MARKET COMMENTS

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM14 +0.03%) this morning are up +1.00 point (+0.05%) at a 1-week high. The S&P 500 index on Wednesday closed higher. Bullish factors for stock included (1) upbeat Q1 company earnings results as Bloomberg data shows 75% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings results beat estimates and that 53% of the companies exceeded sales projections, and (2) the Apr 29-30 FOMC minutes that stated Fed members saw little risk of inflation from continued stimulus. Closes: S&P 500 +0.81%, Dow Jones +0.97%, Nasdaq +0.98%.
Jun 10-year T-notes (ZNM14 -0.10%) this morning are down -2.5 ticks. Jun 10-year T-note futures prices on Wednesday closed lower as a rally in stocks reduced the safe-haven demand for Treasuries: TYM4 -6.00, FVM4 -2.75. T-notes recovered from their worst levels after the minutes of the Apr 29-30 FOMC meeting stated that policy makers said continued stimulus to push unemployment lower doesn't risk sparking an undesirable jump in the inflation rate.
The dollar index (DXY00 +0.08%) this morning is up +0.032 (+0.04%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0012 (-0.09%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is up +0.19 (+0.19%). The dollar index on Wednesday closed higher: Dollar index +0.054 (+0.07%), EUR/USD -0.00148 (-0.11%), USD/JPY +0.036 (+0.04%). Bullish factors for the dollar included (1) the Apr 29-30 FOMC meeting minutes that stated policy makers saw little risk of inflation from continued stimulus to push the unemployment rate lower, and (2) weakness in EUR/USD which fell to a 3-1/4 month low on divergent monetary policies between the Fed, which is tapering stimulus, and the ECB which is expected to add to stimulus. This boosts the interest rate differentials in favor of the dollar over the euro.
July WTI crude oil (CLN14 -0.09%) this morning is down -11 cents (-0.11%). July gasoline (RBN14 unch) is unch. July crude and gasoline prices on Wednesday closed higher with July crude at a 1-month high: CLN4 +1.74 (+1.70%) RBN4 +0.0291 (+0.99%). Bullish factors included (1) the -7.226 million bbl plunge in weekly EIA crude inventories, a larger decline than expectations of unch, and (2) the -225,000 bbl drop in crude supplies at Cushing, OK, the delivery point for WTI futures, to a fresh 5-1/3 year low.

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR05/22/2014

US	0830 ET	Weekly initial unemployment claims expected +13,000 to 310,000, previous -24,000 to 297,000. Weekly continuing claims expected +8,000 to 2.675 million, previous -9,000 to 2.667 million.
	0830 ET	Chicago Fed Apr national activity index expected -0.20 to 0.00, Mar 0.20.
	0830 ET	USDA weekly Export Sales.
	0945 ET	Preliminary U.S. Markit May manufacturing PMI expected +0.1 to 55.5, Apr 55.4.
	1000 ET	Apr existing home sales expected +2.2% to 4.69 million, Mar -0.2% to 4.59 million.
	1000 ET	Apr leading indicators expected +0.4%, Mar +0.8%
	1100 ET	May Kansas City Fed manufacturing index expected unch at 7, Apr 7.
	1100 ET	Treasury announces amount of 2-year T-notes (previous $32 billion), 2-year floating-rate notes (previous $15 billion), 5-year T-notes (previous $35 billion), and 7-year T-notes (previous $29 billion) to be auctioned May 27-29.
	1300 ET	Treasury auctions $13 billion of 10-year TIPS.
	1500 ET	USDA Apr Cold Storage.
GER	0330 ET	German May Markit/BME manufacturing PMI expected -0.1 to 54.0, Apr 54.1. May Market services PMI expected -0.2 to 54.5, Apr 54.7.
EUR	0400 ET	Eurozone May Markit composite PMI expected -0.1 to 53.9, Apr 54.0.
UK	0430 ET	UK Apr public sector net borrowing expected +3.4 billion pounds, Mar +4.9 billion pounds.
	0430 ET	Revised UK Q1 GDP, previous +0.8% q/q and +3.1% y/y. Q1 private consumption expected +0.6% q/q, Q4 +0.4% q/q. Q1 government spending expected +0.2% q/q, Q4 unch q/q.
	0430 ET	UK Q1 total business investment expected +2.2% q/q, Q4 +2.4% q/q and +8.7% y/y.
	0600 ET	UK May CBI trends total orders expected 3, Apr -1. May CBI trends selling prices expected 10, Apr 9.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR05/22/2014

Company Name	Ticker	Time	Event Description	Period	Estimate
Dollar Tree Inc	DLTR US	Bef-mkt	Q1 2015 Earnings Release	Q1 2015	0.664
Patterson Cos Inc	PDCO US	Bef-mkt	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.657
Best Buy Co Inc	BBY US	7:00	Q1 2015 Earnings Release	Q1 2015	0.194
Aflac Inc	AFL US	8:00	Analyst Briefing	Y 2014
Best Buy Co Inc	BBY US	8:00	Q1 2015 Earnings Call	Q1 2015
Franklin Resources Inc	BEN US	8:30	Investor Day	Y 2014
KeyCorp	KEY US	8:30	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
L Brands Inc	LB US	8:30	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Dollar Tree Inc	DLTR US	9:00	Q1 2015 Earnings Call	C1 2015
Dollar Tree Inc	DLTR US	9:00	Q1 2015 Earnings Call	Q1 2015
Home Depot Inc/The	HD US	9:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Lincoln National Corp	LNC US	9:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
McDonald's Corp	MCD US	9:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
L Brands Inc	LB US	9:15	Q1 2015 Earnings Call	C1 2015
L Brands Inc	LB US	9:15	Q1 2015 Earnings Call	Q1 2015
Tiffany & Co	TIF US	9:30	Annual General Meeting
Interpublic Group of Cos Inc/The	IPG US	9:30	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Sealed Air Corp	SEE US	10:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Patterson Cos Inc	PDCO US	10:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
Hasbro Inc	HAS US	11:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Vornado Realty Trust	VNO US	11:30	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Intel Corp	INTC US	11:30	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
NextEra Energy Inc	NEE US	14:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Facebook Inc	FB US	14:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Williams Cos Inc/The	WMB US	15:00	Annual General Meeting
Ross Stores Inc	ROST US	16:00	Q1 2015 Earnings Release	Q1 2015	1.153
Gap Inc/The	GPS US	16:00	Q1 2015 Earnings Release	Q1 2015	0.569
Ross Stores Inc	ROST US	16:15	Q1 2015 Earnings Call	Q1 2015
GameStop Corp	GME US	17:00	Q1 2015 Earnings Call	Q1 2015
Gap Inc/The	GPS US	17:00	Q1 2015 Earnings Call	Q1 2015
Hewlett-Packard Co	HPQ US	17:00	Q2 2014 Earnings Call	Q2 2014
GameStop Corp	GME US	Aft-mkt	Q1 2015 Earnings Release	Q1 2015	0.571
Hewlett-Packard Co	HPQ US	Aft-mkt	Q2 2014 Earnings Release	Q2 2014	0.879
Cablevision Systems Corp	CVC US		Annual General Meeting
Quanta Services Inc	PWR US		Annual General Meeting
Robert Half International Inc	RHI US		Annual General Meeting
Citrix Systems Inc	CTXS US		Annual General Meeting
Flowserve Corp	FLS US		Annual General Meeting
CBS Corp	CBS US		Annual General Meeting
United Parcel Service Inc	UPS US		Roadshow - Toronto	Y 2014

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Cross Timber Royalty Trust - Barchart's Chart of the Day

Cross Timber Royalty Trust (CRT) is the Barchart Chart of the Day. The express oil royalty trust has a Trend Spotter buy signal, a Weighted Alpha of 26.40+, gained 19.52% in the last year and pays a 7.53% dividend.

The Chart of the Day is Cross Timber Royalty Trust (CRT). I found the stock on the Signals Top Performer list and then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts. Since the Trend Spotter signaled a buy on 3/25 the stock gained 10.42%.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) operates as an express trust in the United States. The company’s function is to collect and distribute monthly net profits income from royalty interests and overriding royalty interests to unitholders. It holds 90% net profits interests in certain producing and nonproducing royalty and overriding royalty interest properties producing oil and gas in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico; and 75% net profits interests in seven oil-producing properties, including four properties in Texas and three properties in Oklahoma.

100% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
14 new highs and up 12.99% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 76.82%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 32.76
Recently traded at 35.40 with a 50 day moving average of 31.59

Fundamental factors:

Market Cap $212.40 million
P/E 14.43
Dividend yield 7.53%
At this time no analysts are following this stock

This is an income stock so use both the dividend yield and price movement to calculate total return.

5 Great Small Caps

Today I used Barchart to sort the S&P 600 Small Cap Index to find the stocks with the best technical indicators and chart. First I sorted for technical buy signals, then used the Flipchart feature to review the charts.

Today's list includes Stillwater Mining (SWC), Skechers USA (SKX), SAIA Inc (SAIA), Netscout Systems (NTCT) and Cal-Maine Foods (CALM):

Stillwater Mining (SWC)

Barchart technical indicators:

100% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
8 new highs and up 12.03% on the last month
Relative Strength Index 62.13%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 16.38
Recently traded at 17.06 with a 50 day moving average of 15.47

Skechers USA (SKX)

Barchart technical indicators:

100% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
9 new highs and up 19.63% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 64.20%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 41.14
Recently traded at 44.26 with a 50 day moving average of 37.61

SAIA Inc (SAIA)

Barchart technical indicators:

100% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
9 new highs and up 15.05% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 67.34%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 41.61
Recently traded at 44.26 with a 50 day moving average of 39.07

Netscout Systems (NTCT)

Barchart technical indicators:

100% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
3 new highs and up 13.83% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 62.74%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 37.98
Recently traded at 39.29 with a 50 day moving average of 37.19

Cal-Maine Foods (CALM)

Barchart technical indicators:

100% Barchart technical buy signals
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
5 new highs and up 9.47% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 79.88%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 65.59
Recently traded at 68.370 with a 50 day moving average of 60.97

BARCHART MORNING CALL 5/21

BARCHART MORNING CALL

Wednesday, May 21st, 2014View Older Reports

Everything you need to know about the markets in one free daily newsletter.

You will also receive a free subscription to the Barchart family of newsletters.

OVERNIGHT MARKETS AND NEWS

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM14 +0.23%) this morning are up +0.19% and European stocks are up +0.04% ahead of a speech from Fed Chair Yellen later today. Asian stocks closed mixed: Japan -0.24%, Hong Kong +0.01%, China +0.95%, Taiwan -0.29%, Australia +0.08%, Singapore -0.11%, South Korea -0.24%, India -0.32%. China's Shanghai Stock Index rebounded from a 2-month low and closed higher on speculation that the dip in the stock index below the 2000 level triggered buying by state-linked funds to enter the market and buy Chinese stocks. Commodity prices are mixed. July crude oil (CLN14 +0.74%) is up +0.67% at a 1-month high after weekly API data showed crude supplies shrank by -10.3 million bbl last week. July gasoline (RBN14 +0.23%) is up +0.28%. Jun gold (GCM14 -0.42%) is down -0.25%. July copper (HGN14 -1.19%) is down -1.03% at a 1-week low after Moody's Investors Service lowered its outlook for China's property industry to negative from stable, citing a slowdown in home sales growth. Agriculture and livestock prices are mostly higher. The dollar index (DXY00 +0.03%) is down -0.04%. EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.15%. USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.28% at a 3-1/2 month low after the BOJ refrained from additional stimulus measures and said "Japan's economy is expected to continue a moderate recovery as a trend." The British pound climbed to a 1-week high against the dollar after UK Apr retail sales beat expectations and after the minutes of the May 7-8 BOE meeting showed some policy makers said the arguments favoring a rate increase are growing. June T-note prices (ZNM14 -0.10%) are down -3 ticks.
UK Apr retail sales ex autos rose +1.8% m/m and +7.7% y/y, more than expectations of +0.5% m/m and +5.4% y/y with the +7.7 y/y gain the largest annual increase in 12 years. Apr retail sales including autos rose +1.3% m/m and +6.9% y/y, stronger than expectations of +0.4% m/m and +5.1% y/y with the +6.9% y/y gain the largest annual increase in 12 years.
The Eurozone Mar current account widened to a +20.9 billion euro surplus (nsa) from a downward revised +13.8 billion euro surplus in Feb.
The Japan Apr trade balance shrank to a -808.9 billion yen deficit from a downward revised -1.446 trillion yen deficit in Mar. Apr exports rose +5.1% y/y, better than expectations of +4.4% y/y. Apr imports gained +3.4% y/y, better than expectations of +1.2% y/y.

U.S. STOCK PREVIEW

The FOMC today will release the minutes from its April 29-30 meeting. There are 7 of the S&P 500 companies that report earnings today: Tiffany (consensus $0.78), PetSmart (1.02), Lowe's (0.60), Hormel Foods (0.56), Target (0.71), NetApp (0.79), L Brands (0.52).
Equity conferences this week include: UBS Global Healthcare Conference on Mon-Wed, UBS Global Oil and Gas conference on Mon-Thu, Goldman Sachs Basic Materials Conference on Tue-Wed, Wolfe Research Global Transportation Conference on Tue-Wed, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Financial Services Unconference on Tue-Wed, UBS Global Financial Services Conference on Tue-Thu, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Services One-On-One Conference on Wed, National Association of Publicly Traded Partnerships NAPTP MLP Investor Confere on Wed, BMO Capital Markets Farm to Market Conference on Wed-Thu, Medical Devices & Diagnostics Business Review on Thu, St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2014 on Thu, and Bloomberg Industries & CME Group Precious Metals Forum on Fri.

OVERNIGHT U.S. STOCK MOVERS

Tiffany (TIF -2.78%) reported Q1 EPS of 97 cents, well above consensus of 78 cents.
Raymond James (RJF -1.88%) was downgraded to 'Neutral' from 'Buy' at Goldman Sachs.
Citigroup raised its price target for ConocoPhillips (COP +0.14%) shares to $100 from $85 and keeps a 'Buy' rating on the stock.
Booz Allen (BAH -0.57%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 33 cents, higher than consensus of 31 cents.
TJX (TJX -7.62%) was upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' at SunTrust.
Hormel Foods (HRL -1.10%) reported Q2 EPS of 52 cents, below consensus of 56 cents.
Lowe's (LOW -0.07%) reported Q1 EPS of 58 cents, weaker than consensus of 60 cents.
Pratt & Whitney (UTX -1.67%) says it has 5,500 orders in backlog for geared turbofan engines.
Dycom (DY -3.18%) reported Q3 EPS of 23 cents, better than consensus of 22 cents.
Salesforce.com (CRM -0.64%) reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 11 cents, higher than consensus of 10 cents.
Analog Devices (ADI unch) rose 1% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 EPS of 59 cents, higher than consensus of 56 cents.
Amgen (AMGN +0.12%) announced that The New England Journal of Medicine published results from a Phase 1 study that showed 'positive' data for asthma treatment with Amgen's 157 drug.
Intuit (INTU -0.30%) slipped nearly 4% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 EPS of $3.53, better than consensus of $3.50, but then lowered guidance on Q4 EPS to 6 cents-8 cents, below consensus of 12 cents.

MARKET COMMENTS

June E-mini S&Ps (ESM14 +0.23%) this morning are up +3.50 points (+0.19%). The S&P 500 index on Tuesday closed lower. Bearish factors for stock included (1) hawkish comments from Philadelphia Fed President Plosser who said that recent labor-market strength may mean the Fed starts to increase interest rates “sooner rather than later,” and (2) weakness in retailers after Staples, Dicks Sporting Goods and Urban Outfitters slumped on worse-than-estimated earnings. Closes: S&P 500 -0.65%, Dow Jones -0.83%, Nasdaq -0.42%.
Jun 10-year T-notes (ZNM14 -0.10%) this morning are down -3 ticks. Jun 10-year T-note futures prices on Tuesday closed higher as a slide in stocks boosted the safe-haven demand for Treasuries: TYM4 +8.50, FVM4 +5.50. Gains in T-note prices were limited after Philadelphia Fed President Plosser said that labor-market gains may mean the Fed will need to begin raising interest rates “sooner rather than later.”
The dollar index (DXY00 +0.03%) this morning is down -0.031 (-0.04%). EUR/USD (^EURUSD) is down -0.0021 (-0.15%). USD/JPY (^USDJPY) is down -0.28 (-0.28%) at a 3-1/2 month low. The dollar index on Tuesday closed higher: Dollar index +0.048 (+0.06%), EUR/USD -0.00076 (-0.06%), USD/JPY -0.168 (-0.17%). Supportive factors for the dollar included (1) weaker stocks that boosted safe-haven demand for the dollar, and (2) weakness in EUR/USD after ECB Council member Linde suggested he may favor additional ECB stimulus when he said the “most immediate risk in the Eurozone today” is the possibility of a scenario of low inflation during too prolonged a period.
July WTI crude oil (CLN14 +0.74%) this morning is up +69 cents (+0.67%) at a 1-month high. July gasoline (RBN14 +0.23%) is up +0.0082 (+0.28%). July crude and gasoline prices on Tuesday closed higher: CLN4 +0.22 (+0.22%) RBN4 +0.0054 (+0.18%). The main supportive factor for crude prices was the market expectation that Wednesday’s weekly EIA will show that crude supplies at Cushing, OK, the delivery point for WTI futures, slipped to a fresh 5-1/2 year low.

GLOBAL EVENT CALENDAR05/21/2014

US	0700 ET	Weekly MBA mortgage applications, previous +3.6% with purchase sub-index -0.1% and refi sub-index +6.8%.
	1030 ET	EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
	1100 ET	Fed Chair Janet Yellen delivers commencement speech at NYU.
	1250 ET	Kansas City Fed President Esther George speaks on the U.S. economy and banking in Washington D.C.
	1330 ET	Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota speaks to the Economic Club of Minnesota.
	1400 ET	Minutes of the April 29-30 FOMC meeting.
EUR	0400 ET	Eurozone Mar current account, Feb +13.9 billion euros (nsa).
	1000 ET	Eurozone May consumer confidence expected +0.3 to -8.3, Apr -8.6.
UK	0430 ET	Minutes of the May 7-8 BOE policy meeting.
	0430 ET	UK Apr retail sales ex autos expected +0.5% m/m and +5.4% y/y, Mar -0.4% m/m and +4.2% y/y. Apr retail sales including autos expected +0.4% m/m and +5.1% y/y, Mar +0.1% m/m and +4.2% y/y.
CHI	2145 ET	China May HSBC manufacturing PMI expected +0.2 to 48.3, Apr +0.1 to 48.1.

U.S. STOCK CALENDAR05/21/2014

Company Name	Ticker	Time	Event Description	Period	Estimate
Tiffany & Co	TIF US	Bef-mkt	Q1 2015 Earnings Release	Q1 2015	0.775
PetSmart Inc	PETM US	Bef-mkt	Q1 2015 Earnings Release	Q1 2015	1.015
Lowe's Cos Inc	LOW US	6:00	Q1 2015 Earnings Release	Q1 2015	0.601
Hormel Foods Corp	HRL US	6:30	Q2 2014 Earnings Release	Q2 2014	0.559
Target Corp	TGT US	7:30	Q1 2015 Earnings Release	Q1 2015	0.708
Northrop Grumman Corp	NOC US	8:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Tiffany & Co	TIF US	8:30	Q1 2015 Earnings Call	Q1 2015
Comcast Corp	CMCSA US	9:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Hormel Foods Corp	HRL US	9:00	Q2 2014 Earnings Call	Q2 2014
Lowe's Cos Inc	LOW US	9:00	Q1 2015 Earnings Call	Q1 2015
Avery Dennison Corp	AVY US	9:30	Investment Community Meeting	Y 2014
ONEOK Inc	OKE US	10:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Mondelez International Inc	MDLZ US	10:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Halliburton Co	HAL US	10:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
PetSmart Inc	PETM US	10:00	Q1 2015 Earnings Call	Q1 2015
Fossil Group Inc	FOSL US	10:00	Annual General Meeting
Boeing Co/The	BA US	10:30	Investor Conference
Target Corp	TGT US	10:30	Q1 2015 Earnings Call	Q1 2015
Quest Diagnostics Inc	DGX US	10:30	Annual General Meeting
Xcel Energy Inc	XEL US	12:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Amazon.com Inc	AMZN US	12:00	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Juniper Networks Inc	JNPR US	12:00	Annual General Meeting
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc/The	HIG US	12:30	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
NetApp Inc	NTAP US	16:01	Q4 2014 Earnings Release	Q4 2014	0.793
CME Group Inc/IL	CME US	16:30	Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
NetApp Inc	NTAP US	17:00	Q4 2014 Earnings Call	Q4 2014
L Brands Inc	LB US	Aft-mkt	Q1 2015 Earnings Release	Q1 2015	0.519
PPL Corp	PPL US		Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
Pinnacle West Capital Corp	PNW US		Annual General Meeting
Roper Industries Inc	ROP US		Annual General Meeting
Ross Stores Inc	ROST US		Annual General Meeting
Stericycle Inc	SRCL US		Annual General Meeting	Y 2014
First Solar Inc	FSLR US		Annual General Meeting
DENTSPLY International Inc	XRAY US		Annual General Meeting
United Parcel Service Inc	UPS US		Roadshow - Montreal	Y 2014
Amphenol Corp	APH US		Annual General Meeting

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

5 Great Mid Caps

Today I sorted the S&P 400 Mid Cap Index to find the stocks with the best technical indicators and charts. First, I sorted for new highs frequency in the last month, then I used the Flipchart feature to review the charts. I skipped over a lot of charts till I found the consistency I liked.

Today list includes Essex Property Trust (ESS), Mid-America Apartment Communities (MAA), Old Dominion Freight Lines (ODFL), Equinix (EQIX), and Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI):

Essex Property Trust (ESS)