Big News, Small Move

Despite strong earnings, a weak retail release and the Fed announcement, the market hardly budged. The SPX finished the day at the same level it started. Volume was tame, which is highly unusual considering it is OPEX Friday. Decliners outnumbered advancers by 2 to 1, indicating selling pressure picked up. Still, the SPX bulls defended 1085 and managed a price push into close.

The market had been higher in the morning despite a weak number in retail sales, which declined 0.5% in June. The rally was sparked by Intel, which reported blow-out financials yesterday afternoon and carried the Nasdaq higher by 0.5% today. The moderate rally in the market this morning disappeared after the central bank lowered its forecast for U.S. GDP just after noon. In April, the Fed projected growth of between 3.2% and 3.7% for the year, but revised it to 3% to 3.5% growth. The officials noted that risks to the recovery had increased and that inflation expectations have diminished. The Fed projects the unemployment rate at 9.5% will remain for some time above its historical high.

The Chart of the Day

iGate Corp (Nasdaq: IGTE) (CHART) finished the day 14% higher. Volume greatly increased as well today. Shares trade in a gorgeous upward price channel that dates back to December. After today's big move, shares touched the top of their channel and should pull back soon.

Take any fall in its price as a buying opportunity.

Shares look great on all metrics. RSI is above 50, indicating bullish trend. Both MACD and Stochastics have made bullish crossovers, indicating a bullish trend. Lastly, volume has increased with each new high, a sign of a bullish trend. My first target takes shares to $18.

Watch List

The TradeMaster watch list was mixed today, similar to the market.

Leading the way was Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: KERX) up 15% in a strong biotech industry. The stock was covered in my weekend video review to TradeMaster Daily Stock Alerts' members over the past two weekends. Heading into the week, I advised buying shares on any low volume day around $3.60. Along with the 15% price move, the stock also took back RSI 50 today. My initial target is for a move up to $5, which leaves 20% upside still.