{"id":4101,"date":"2011-03-17T07:29:05","date_gmt":"2011-03-17T12:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leavittbrothers.com\/blog\/?p=4101"},"modified":"2011-03-17T07:29:05","modified_gmt":"2011-03-17T12:29:05","slug":"before-the-open-mar-17-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.leavittbrothers.com\/?p=4101","title":{"rendered":"Before the Open (Mar 17)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning. Happy Thursday.<\/span>
\nThe Asian\/Pacific markets closed mostly down. China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Japan each lost more than 1%. Europe is currently up across-the-board. There are several 1% winners. Futures here in the States point toward a solid gap up open for the cash market.
\n<\/span>
\nMany breadth indicators hit there lowest levels since last summer.<\/span>
\n8% – the % of S&P 1500 stocks trading above their 10-day MA – lowest level since Jun 8.<\/span>
\n12% – the % of S&P 1500 stocks trading above their 20-day MA – lowest level since Jun 9.<\/span>
\n3 – number of S&P 1500 stocks that closed in the top 10% of their intraday range – lowest number since Aug 30.<\/span>
\n9 – number of S&P 1500 stocks that closed in the top 20% of their intraday range – lowest number since Aug 30.<\/span>
\nOverall the market is the weakest it’s been since last summer, and on an individual basis, yesterday was the single weakest day since last August.<\/span>
\nThe market continues to be held hostage to whatever news – good or bad – comes out of Japan. The problem is the news is incomplete and often inaccurate or in yesterday’s case, not even timely. I read that the comments made by the EU energy commissioner were not based on new information they had just discovered but a conclusion they came to the previous day. <\/span>
\nA 20-point S&P move can come at any time, so we need to be very nimble. More after the open.<\/span>
\nheadlines at Yahoo Finance<\/a><\/span>
\ntoday’s upgrades\/downgrades<\/a><\/span>
\nthis week’s Earnings Reports<\/a><\/span>
\nthis week’s Economic Numbers<\/a><\/span>
\n