Groups that act strong during times of market weakness always stand out as they show a conviction on the part of institutional buyers.  In a tape when buyers could easily walk away such as last week, a group making new highs such as the Machinery/Pumps group definitely stands out.  Below we list the group components as well as highlight the group chart, which is at new highs.

The FusionIQ retail-apparel/shoe index still remains a mixed bag with a few retailers scoring high FusionIQ ranks (JCG, BKE, ARO and ROST) while many (HOTT, CHRS, CHIC and GPS to name a few struggle).  We would imagine government stimulus checks which should be received in the coming days, weeks and months and will find their way as disposable income into the retail apparel sector at some point soon.

Please find in the attached table a list of above average volume BUYS cultivated off the FusionIQ custom screener.  This screen looks to find stocks that are on new FusionIQ timing BUY signals but are moving up on above average volume a sign that institutional accumulation (a driver of equity prices) is building.

Rowan Companies, Inc. which performs contract drilling of oil and gas wells in the United States and internationally scored a high volume FusionIQ short squeeze on Friday as it broke out on almost 2 1/2 times its normal 21-day average volume.  With close to 12 percent of its float short and a point and figure target of 62.00 RDC still has solid upside potential.

With a new FusionIQ timing BUY signal and a point and figure target of $ 62.00 BMC clearly offers good return potential.

A few days back we revisited our earlier SOHU post.  SOHU shares have been on fire since we posted.  Now we look at SINA, the largest Chinese portal and as seen in the chart below it also scored a very timely FusionIQ BUY signal back a few weeks ago.  With its 100 FusionIQ technical score SINA looks to still have a lot of upside.

Additionally on Thursday, RealNetworks reported first-quarter revenue above analysts' estimates and predicted second-quarter revenue above analysts' estimates. Though it only has a 58 FusionIQ score the point and figure target of $ 12.00 does offer good potential for those who may want to be early. Given the high volume gap and price surge we would suggest buying a pullback.

Back in February we published a blog post on Walt Disney (DIS) after Barron's wrote a glowing story entitled " The Magic is Back " about Walt Disney and its prospects for the future. We said back then that Disney's FusionIQ ranking was only a 58 out of a possible 100 and that at this point with only a 58 ranking it is still a bit early to believe the magic is back for good. We then suggested the best plan of attack was to wait for its FusionIQ rank to move back into bullish mode again by seeing its ranking score move back to 70. 

Well for the first time in several years DIS is back to a FusionIQ score of 70. That said we now concur with Barron's that Disney may indeed be back !

We continue to highlight the power of FusionIQ by showing its custom screening ability.  Today using FusionIQs custom screener we have created a list of stocks that traded up on above average volume but also scored new FusionIQ timing BUY signals.  As a FusionIQ user one can create unlimited screens using Fusion metrics as well as traditional metrics to create various trading and investment opportunities.

The Strong FusionIQ Retailers - WMT and COST

Wal-Mart (WMT), FusionIQ Technical score 97 - which is rolling out more discounts, reported a 3.2 percent gain in same-store sales. The world's largest retailer said business was helped by strong sales in grocery and health items as well as entertainment products like flat-panel TVs, video games and game consoles. The company said apparel sales continued to recover, despite cold weather, but home furnishings sales were weak.

Costco (COST), FusionIQ Technical Score 97 - reported an 8 percent increase in same-store sales, surpassing the 6.1 percent estimate.

The Weak FusionIQ Retailers - TGT, GPS, JCP, LTD and ANF

Target Corp. (TGT), FusionIQ Technical Score 49 - posted a 3.1 percent gain in same-store sales, below the 4.5 percent estimate.

Gap Inc (GPS), FusionIQ Technical Score 47 - suffered a 6 percent drop in same-store sales, worse than the 1.9 percent analysts anticipated.

J.C. Penney (JCP), FusionIQ Technical Score 45 - reported a 1.7 percent decline in same-store sales, though that was better than the 4.6 percent decline analysts expected.

Limited Brands (LTD), FusionIQ Technical Score 40 - reported a 5 percent drop in same-store sales, worse than the 2.3 percent analysts forecast.

Abercombie & Fitch Co. (ANF),  FusionIQ Technical Score 36 - reported a 6 percent gain in same-store sales, surpassing the 2.3 percent estimate.

As seen in the table below the top 25 ranked FusionIQ groups based on master technical score still have a decided energy and commodity theme.  While these groups have been leaders for a while they still remain the leaders and should continue to be overweight status until their FusionIQ scores drop below 70.

With crude oil prices rising anything related to alternative energy or the global green theme is catching a bid.  Enersys (ENS) a battery systems company has recently broken out a sold base and scored a new FusionIQ short squeeze and timing BUY signal yesterday.  With almost 27 % of its float short ENS is likely to keep rising after it consolidates for a day or so.  The point and figure target is $ 49.50 - so there is appears to be plenty of upside left.

Using FusionIQ’s powerful custom screener users can create targeted lists of stocks based on different criteria.  Today we create an all cap value screen with high FusionIQ technical scores.  The result is in our opinion better than a list based on only value criteria as you are now incorporating the all important aspect of price momentum.

Clearwire (CLWR) and Sprint Nextel (S) are planning to merge their wireless broadband units to create a new $14.55 billion wireless communications company.  The new company, to be named Clearwire, will receive a $3.2 billion investment from Intel Corp., Google Inc., Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc. and Bright House Networks. The investment is based on a target price of $20 per Clearwire share and will give the companies a 22 percent stake in the new venture.  Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint Nextel Corp. will be majority owner with a 51 percent equity stake, while existing Clearwire shareholders will receive about 27 percent interest.

While the merger appears bullish both stocks pre-merger had very low FusionIQ score so we would suspect the jury will be out on the new company for some time to come.

Swift Energy Co. (SFY) broke out yesterday on 1.5x its 21-day average volume.  The stock scored both a FusionIQ short squeeze and breakout.  With energy stocks still dominating the top decile classes of FusionIQ and almost 17.00 percent of SFY’s float short, shares could continue to work markedly higher over the next several months.  The point and figure price objective of $ 80.00 also echoes that same sentiment.

As the chart below shows inflation adjusted crude has clearly broken out to all new highs.  This is certainly making it hard for the market to try and get above its various resistance levels the last couple days.  We would surmise that as long as crude keeps working higher the markets will have a tough time making any upside headway.

Tracking the new 52 week high list is a good shortcut to see what the market is paying a premium for and what the groups are leading.  A quick look at our FusionIQ new high table shows the usual suspects energy and coal are still working.

Much has been made of the possible merger of Yahoo (YHOO) and Microsoft (MSFT) merger.  While on the surface this seem to be a very bullish strategy for Microsoft as it looks to compete with Google, clearly the low FusionIQ scores on both Yahoo (55) and Microsoft (41) suggest merger or no merger the street is not in love with either stock at the moment.  Not that stocks with low FusionIQ scores can’t move higher, however stocks with scores below 60 tend to be laggards for quite some time, so while these two names dominate the news neither seem to be a good investment candidate at the moment.  Today Microsoft withdrew its $ 44 Billion bid for Yahoo causing Yahoo shares to plummet. 

Everyday FusionIQ has a variety of trading screens it generates to its users.  One of the most robust is the FusionIQ proprietary Short Squeeze screen.  The table below lists stocks on today’s list.  These are issues that have a large percentage of their float short and have recently moved up in price on above average volume.  These names tend to generate large short term price moves when they work as buyers and short sellers converge to create a buying vacuum.

To see more FusionIQ trading screens sign up today at https://www.fusioniqrank.com/signup.php

Looking at the top 25 groups in FusionIQ based on Master Technical score there is still a decided flavor towards energy, commodities and industrials.  This still remains a dominant investment theme, even though a lot of the easy money has likely been made in these sectors already.

The QQQQ (Powershares QQQ) and the XLK (Technology Select Sector SPDR) two key tracking stocks for the technology sector both scored new FusionIQ Timing BUY signals.  Now while this doesn’t mean the techs are guaranteed to go up the fact that both of these key benchmarks scored new BUYS after being on NEUTRALS for quite a while does suggest there is a good chance the upside momentum will continue.

Shares of Open Text Corp. (OTEX) rose aggressively yesterday as the information technology company's fiscal third-quarter results, narrowly beat Wall Street estimates. Canadian based Open Text reported quarterly profit of $7.3 million, or 14 cents per share, compared with $3.9 million, or 8 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding amortization charges and other special items, the company recorded adjusted income of 48 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31. Revenue grew 15 percent to $178.8 million from $156.1 million. License revenue rose 20 percent to $51.5 million.

Today OTEX shares showed up on both FusionIQ’s breakout and short squeeze screen suggesting that its upside momentum may be fast and furious after some consolidation.  Its point and figure projected price target of $ 54.00 also suggests this may be the case.

Several days back we highlighted Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB) as a FusionIQ short squeeze.  Shares subsequently shot up 6 percent over the last three days versus only a 0.69 percent return for the S&P 500 over the same period.  Today RRGB again shows up on FusionIQ’s above average volume short squeeze page.  With a point and figure target of $ 57.00 RRGB certainly offers lots of upside potential from present levels and with over 50% of its float short shares have ample pent up buying demand to drive prices higher.

To view more FusionIQ short squeezes sign up today at https://www.fusioniqrank.com/signup.php

Eastman Kodak Co. (EK) said Thursday its first-quarter loss narrowed to $115 million, however its’ stock fell more than 5 percent.  Hit by carry-over restructuring charges, the photography products maker lost the equivalent of 40 cents a share in the January-March quarter, compared with a loss of $151 million, or 53 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales rose 1 percent to $2.093 billion from $2.08 billion. Excluding one-time items totaling $2 million, or 1 cent a share, operating losses came to $112 million, or 39 cents a share.

Kodak blamed the shortfall on higher-than-expected tax provisions and increased inkjet printer investments in both its consumer photography and commercial graphic communications businesses. Digital sales rose 10 percent to $1.366 billion from $1.245 billion a year earlier, while traditional film-based revenue continued to slump 13 percent to $724 million from $830 million.

Kodak still remains a perennial investment loser as it continues to tread water near its 52 week lows.  Although the company continues to make a transition to the faster growing digital market its FusionIQ score of only 23 suggests it will be dead money for a while.  We would continue to avoid EK shares.