Wacky holiday trading causes multiple 30%+ gains on huge volume Friday...

The market was mixed on Friday, with both the Dow and the NYSE Composite both in the red, but with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both in the green.

Guess the market just wanted us to see the two "Christmas Colors" for the day.

The mixed action masked some of the other "shenanigans" going on, however.

I'm not sure what happened, but in my nightly analysis of hundreds of stock charts for this report, I'm finding dozens and dozens of stocks popping 30% and more on huge volume coming out of nowhere. Interesting, to say the least.

And that's not making my stock selection any easier this evening. Any one of these dozens of stocks on my Watch List for Monday could continue to the upside on the open.

But I've found another "Baby Biotech" that exploded on Friday. It came all the way back down, but I think it will have (perhaps massive) upside again next week.

I'm naming this unknown stock for my paying Members. It should be an exciting speculation, and should join the ranks of my other recent specs, some of which are popping 20-40% the very next day.

Well, so much for the market's big move on Tuesday...

With the last two days of weak market action, Tuesday's exciting gain has been effectively wiped out. So the market obviously is not out of the woods yet.

The Dow cratered over 219 points today, and the Nasdaq almost 27. Except for a weak little bounce near the end of the day for both indexes, it was mostly all downhill, all day.

The market slide today was partly because of the 10% mini-crash in the price of crude oil, which also tanked most of the Energy stocks. A barrel of crude ended below $37, its lowest in at least four years.

But certain "Baby Biotechs" are still bouncing big time! My biotech play today was up huge at one point, and still ended the day up 15.38% on large volume. I'm going to name a bunch more "Baby Biotech" potentials below for my paying Members, and I'll name an Alternative Energy play as a Baffle.

The markets take a breather after yesterday's historic interest rate cut giddiness...

Today looks like a "resting day" for the markets, with the Dow down almost 100 points, and the Nasdaq down 10.58. Looks like they are coming off their "high" from Gentle Ben's historic actions at the Fed yesterday, with just a small hangover.

Certain sectors did really well today, and one has been going absolutely ballistic lately!

Small Golds & Silvers shone again today. Shipper stocks sailed north again as well. Solar stocks were hot too.

But some of the tiny, beaten-down-to-penny-stock-level Small Biotechs are just going berserk! Witness ANSV's jaw-dropping one-day gain of 700% Tuesday (followed by another portfolio-enhancing pop today). And I have a nice list of great potentials... any one of which could be the next one-day 500-700% gainer. In fact, I'm going to name three of those tiny biotech beauties below, as well as the symbols for the rest on my list (for paying Members only of course).

The markets get a boost from the Fed...

Well, it took the Fed lowering interest rates to just about zero, but the market seemed to like it today.

The Dow skyrocketed 360 points, and the Nasdaq almost 82. A strong day for both indexes... and... looking at their charts... I'm starting to see Reverse Head & Shoulders bottoms forming on both.

The market is "supposed" to be going up this time of the year anyway. The November - May trading period has historically been the best time to be in the market. So we may be at the start of that run.

Small Golds did well again today. But Financial stocks did just fine as well, with even the Homebuilders making a solid showing. And some analysts are starting to say the Commodity stocks - like the Ag Chemicals (our old favorites) may have bottomed out and are ready to make a sprint to the upside again. One of the strongest tickers in that sector is POT - which "smoked" 44% in just the last week!

Finally, it's very rare that I recommend a stock that was up over 700% in just one day. But I've found one of the prettiest Baffle Plays I've ever seen, and I'm about to let my paying Members in on it. If it works, it will surely be featured in my soon-to-be-updated Stock Market Miracle ebook.

Bad news everywhere, but the charts of both the Dow and the Nasdaq look bullish to me...

It still looks like the market now wants to look past all the negative news hitting it every day. More bad news did indeed hit Friday, when the Commerce Department reported retail sales fell in November for a record fifth straight month.

The market took it on the chin at first, opening in the red. But at the end of the day, the Dow was green, to the tune of almost 65 points, and the Nas up much better percentage-wise at almost 33 points.

Candlestick-wise, both the Dow and the Nas charts look bullish to me. The Dow shows a nice Hammer in a mild pullback, and the Nasdaq shows close to a Bullish Engulfing pattern.

Helping the market was the announcement from the White House that it's ready to step in and aid the ailing automakers. The market definitely wants a quick solution (or at least a "plan") to that fiasco. Remember, the market despises any kind of uncertainty.

And... I'm happy to say... I'm still finding superb trade setups in the Baffle and RSVP Play areas. Scanning Friday's best charts, I'm seeing strong moves in some of the smaller biotech stocks, for example.

Those moves may have been triggered by the fantastic news of a particular company, a tiny biotech teamed up with a well-known pharmaceutical giant to collaborate on two new cancer cure programs. The small stock was up huge, and I think it has much more upside based on the strength of that move.

I'll name that stock below for my paying Members.

Everthing looked rosy for the market, until around 1:00 PM EST...

It seems the market was looking for a quick resolution to the auto manufacturer bailout, loan or whatever you want to call it. But when that didn't happen, the market took a swan dive around 1:00 PM EST for just about the rest of the day.

Adding to that excitement was the 10.2% pop in the price of crude oil on OPEC's announcement of planned production cutbacks, spiking the gooey substance back up to around $48.00 a barrel. That news helped oil and other commodity stocks. Gold stocks were some of the biggest price gainers today, for example.

The market swoon notwithstanding, I'm still finding superb trade setups in the Baffle and RSVP Play areas. We've hit some of those out of the park lately, and I think I have the next one to do that...

I'm seeing some of the most (and nicest-looking!) Baffles and RSVP Plays I've seen in a long, long time...

Maybe it's because tons of stocks have just laid down and flatlined in this brutal bull market, but I think I'm seeing the most Baffle and RSVP Plays I've ever seen since I've started this service.

And not only that... but they are the most perfect, "textbook" setups too! It's been a long, long time since I've seen so many of this quality.

So choosing the "best" play of the day is no small task, to say the least. In fact, just about ANY ONE of the long list of stocks below (paying Members only) can produce one-day gains of 20-30% and more tomorrow, like lots of my speculations have done lately (case in point... today's play was up 52.83% for the day).

So... suffice to say... I've been like a "kid in a candy store" lately, feasting on all these fantastic trade setups. And I have a beauty for Thursday...

Wow! If I had to buy one stock sector, it would be this one...

Well, the market probably needed a rest anyway, after the nice recent run-up.

And rest it did today, with the Dow shedding almost 243 points, and the Nasdaq down 24.4. The "reason du jour" for the weakness seemed to be weak earnings reports. But I think the market just needed to rest a bit.

But there was no weakness to be found in what's suddenly become one of the hottest sectors in the market - the Shipping stocks.

I named one as my RSVP Play yesterday - DRYS - and that bad boy provided another 31.8% today on hellacious volume. The other Shippers are popping like crazy, following DRYS' lead.

But I found a rare Baffle Play this evening (for my paying Members only, of course). It's a "strange bird", one that flew from the $20 area to the $85 area in a massive 2006-2007 run, and then crash-landed back to earth and flat-lined for awhile.

It's back in action today though, more than doubling in value on huge volume for the rather thinly-traded stock. It may be about to take off on another massive run. I'll name it for my Members tonight.

Another up day for the market, and these charts are starting to work again...

It's starting to feel like the "good ole days" again.

Today was another positive day for the market, with the Dow up almost 300 points and the Nas up over 62. Lots of sectors were up across the board today, but I'm seeing strong action in the Auto Parts, Shippers, Solars, Steels and even the REITs today.

The temperament of the market sure seems to have changed for the better. Is all the panic selling finally over? It's a little too soon to tell, but it sure feels that way.

Also, the old "standby" of bullish charts - the Cup and Handle Breakout - is starting to crop up again, and... as opposed to months of backing, filling and false start breakouts... these are actually beginning to work again! That alone is very bullish, in my opinion.

I’m naming a stock (for my paying Members only) that made its owners a TON of money in its massive 2007 run. It gave all of that huge gain back, and has been flat lined for a while. But the stock was up almost 51% today, it's a Value Investor's Dream, and could be kicking off another home run jaunt.

Has the market psychology changed for the better?

It sure seems that way, when one of the worst jobs report ever hits the market, and the Dow soars just about the rest of the day.

That's exactly what happened Friday. The report initially looked like it was going to tank the market when it announced 533,000 jobs were lost in November (the worst in decades), but the Dow ended up a shade over 259 points, and the Nasdaq did even better percentage-wise, up a tidy 63.75 points.

When horrible economic news stops tanking the market, you have to start wondering if traders and investors on Wall Street are starting to look past all the negativity, and are liking what they see on the other side, 6 to 9 months down the road.

And remember what I said a few posts ago about the U.S. economy having been in a recession for almost a year now. If that's true, then it's already been one of the longest on record.

That means maybe we're closer to the end of all this mess rather than the beginning or middle.

Another interesting statistic...

6 out of the last 8 bull markets began in a recession.

Let's get ready for the next bull rampage!

I’m about to suggest a stock (for my paying Members only) that was on its OWN rampage Friday. It more than doubled, and I think it has much more.

If you're an intraday "market watcher", take my advice... there is absolutely NO REASON to pay attention to this market until the last hour of trading...

I don't have an explanation for what's happening in the market right now, but... as I've mentioned several times recently... the current market is like most basketball games... there's just no reason to watch it until the last few minutes (or in the case of the stock market, the last hour of trading).

Some market pundits postulate that speculators are pretty much running the market, and I can see their point. Those speculators are akin to savvy poker players, not willing to "show their hand" until it's absolutely necessary. So they make their big moves in the final hour of trading.

Today's market action is a perfect example. The trading basically flat-lined all day, until... you guessed it... the last hour of trading, when the bears took over. The Dow ended the day down 215.45 points, and the Nas coughed up 46.82 points, mostly in that crucial final trading hour.

The one bright spot? The volume was a little soft. That means the market remains in rally mode overall.

Call me crazy, but I'm sensing a new bull market brewing...

With the market bouncing right back after the huge drop Monday, even with all the negative news on the economy hitting the market each and every day, I'm starting to sense that traders and investors are beginning to look past all the current "bad press"... and they're seeing a rosier future in the next few months.

In other words, I think we've seen the bottom of this massive pullback.

I'm even seeing (gasp!) some stocks making new 52-week highs! Take a look at CBST for example. That's a sweet chart! And one we haven't seen in quite a while. I expect we'll be seeing more of those in the near future, however.

So I'm dusting off my old algorithms I usually use only in bull markets to see what pops up. I'm finding some extremely interesting plays, and letting my Members know all about them.

Maybe the "shock" that we've been in a recession for a year wore off a little today...

After almost a full year, it became official Monday that the U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007.

I'm not even going to ask why it took almost a year for the National Bureau of Economic Research to decide that sober fact, but I think the rest of us "sensed" that was the case anyway. Firms have cut 1.2 million jobs in 2008.

Here's what's interesting though...

If in fact, we HAVE been in a recession since 12/07, then it's ALREADY lasted longer than most postwar downturns. There have only been three longer ones: the longest was during the Great Depression (August 1929 - March 1933), followed by November 1973 - March 1975 and July 1981 - November 1982 (16 months each).

So if the current recession has already lasted 12 months, just a few more months and we've tied some of the longest downturns in our economic history! Food for thought, and perhaps more ammunition for the market having bottomed out already. Remember, the market looks ahead 6 - 9 months.

But I guess the "formal announcement" spooked the market yesterday, and was the main reason (other than the usual dismal economic reports) causing the market to tank. But today was a different story, with the Dow up a tidy 270 points and the Nasdaq up almost 52.

Both charts of the Dow and the Nas show nice Bullish Harami patterns. That usually indicates the end of the pullback, but in this market, who knows.

All in all, I'd say it was a nice "Turnaround Tuesday."

Well, I guess the Thanksgiving Rally is over...

We are back from the Thanksgiving Holiday. I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable rest from the market, and had a good time with friends and family.

Well, after one of the best one-week showings in stock market history, I guess you just can't get too greedy. The Thanksgiving Rally came to a stunning halt today, with the Dow plummeting 680 points and the Nas 137.5.

Higher than expected "Black Friday" retail sales didn't help the market today at all, although the market continued its short-lived euphoria on Friday. Too bad the market couldn't stay open all day! Oh well, let's hope for a "Turnaround Tuesday."