Stock Trends

Checking in on the S&B 20

Happy Halloween!

This week we’re checking in on the stocks in the S&B 20.

As a reminder, this is not to be confused with the Blue Chip Hot List and stocks here aren’t necessarily in a strong technical position.

I introduced this basket of stocks by in August as a way to gauge market health. Essentially, it is my completely arbitrary basket of the 20 most important stocks, handpicking representatives from key industries and sectors, as well as the largest and most index-moving tech giants.
*You can read why each stock was included in the initial report.

The list is broken down into the following baskets:

• 8 top tech names

• 6 cyclicals

• 6 defensives

And we use those groups to gauge relative strength and risk appetite like we did on Monday.

So amid Mag 7 earnings, election uncertainty and more, let’s see how the market’s most important stocks look from the bottom-up.

---

Top Tech 8

Above or below $233 on Apple?

Apple reports earnings after the bell today and while the chart can’t predict what will happen, the current technical setup is bullish. We’re looking for a strong close (near the highs of the day) above $237 to end the week and signal the next leg higher.

Amazon cheating up to highs ahead of tonight’s earnings

Amazon also reports after the close today and the stock is cheating up toward recent highs ahead of the report. The big-picture is very attractive if we get a close above $202 but the stock has been chopping sideways for months, making the tactical picture more questionable if it can’t.

Broadcom pulling back from recent all-time high

AVGO hit new all-time highs earlier this month but wasn’t able to decisively break out. Still, the stock has found support at the 50-DMA over the past week and I like it long here.

Alphabet breaks out on earnings, finds resistance at gap

GOOGL gained 2.9% yesterday following earnings but the intraday action was not inspiring. After filling a gap from July at the open, the stock fell throughout the day, closing at its lows. There’s support at $168 but GOOGL will need time to regroup for another run at $183 resistance.

META set for a slight fall today following earnings

META reported earnings after the close yesterday and at the conclusion of the earnings call the stock was down about 3%. That’s exactly where the stock closed on Friday and isn’t even enough to form a lower low. We’ll see how it trades today, but the bullish bias and long thesis remain for this Blue Chip Hot List holding.

Microsoft will test a tactical uptrend line today

Microsoft is trading lower by closer to 4% in the pre-market, which would have it testing a short-term uptrend line shown above. Though the decline is similar to META, MSFT is in a far more precarious position, as a head and shoulders top remains a possibility. A break of $400 would leave only the neckline at $385 as support.

Bull flag for Netflix, poised for more upside