Credit: Shutterstock photoOne day after the Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates for the third time this year, big-cap techs helped hoist the Nasdaq composite mildly higher in afternoon trading Thursday as hopes for the U.S. stock market to end the year with gains in 11 of 12 months.
[ibd-display-video id=2700154 width=50 float=left autostart=true]Meanwhile, Bitcoin fever stayed white hot.
The Bitcoin Investment Trust ( GBTC ), which whipsawed traders on Wednesday but still ended the session positive, rose another 1.6% to 2,373 in lighter than normal turnover. On Wednesday, the exchange traded fund reached as high as 2,549, up 158% after surpassing a 985.10 buy point in an unusually deep cup with handle just three weeks ago.
Such gains are not abnormal for the Bitcoin-tracking ETF. From May 15 to May 25, the fund soared 200% from 188 to 565. After a steep correction in June and July, Bitcoin Investment Trust made another skyrocketing move, rising from 424 on Aug. 1 to 1,064 on Aug. 31, up 151%.
The trust trades on average 99,000 shares each day over the past 50 sessions, up from 68,000 shares just seven weeks ago. For now, short-term traders can use the 10-day moving average, currently near 1,903, as a key technical tool in which to decide whether to take profits or hold longer.
At 1 p.m. ET, the Nasdaq composite rose nearly 0.2% while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average were roughly flat. Volume is running mildly lower in today's market vs. the same time Wednesday.
The NYSE composite was down 0.1%, threatening to snap a five-day winning streak, amid a nearly 3% slide for Chinese e-commerce and digital payments titan Alibaba ( BABA ).
Alibaba, formerly on IBD Leaderboard , undercut its 50-day moving average more than two weeks ago and is currently making its deepest correction since it completed a long base at the end of last year. The megacap consumer spending and internet play broke out of that base at 104.67 in February and ramped up 82% before beginning its latest correction.
Alibaba's long-term uptrend remains fully intact, and there is a healthy cushion above the stock's long-term 200-day moving average (see the 200-day line on any chart in MarketSmith , IBD's premium stock screen and charting service).
Meanwhile, the new issues market remains very interesting for growth investors. IBD's New Issues Index is up 27.6% year to date, as seen on page B6 of the latest IBD Weekly print newspaper. That beats a 23.1% gain by the Dow Jones industrials over the same time frame, excluding dividends.
Floor & Decor ( FND ), an April 27 IPO, rallied more than 4% to hit a multimonth high of 46.24 before receding. Notice on a daily chart how the small-cap stock met stiff upside resistance at the 45 level earlier in the week.
Floor & Decor has yet to form a valid handle on the current cup base.
Still, the specialist in tile, wood and other flooring for the home improvement and construction markets has shown good price-and-volume action since testing support at the now-rising 50-day moving average several times since October.
The 50-day moving average, which tracks the average closing price over the past 50 sessions, is currently around 39.55 today vs. 36.66 at the start of the fourth quarter. A rising 50-day moving average is bullish; you want to see the line, painted in red in each IBD and MarketSmith chart, going up and not down since that reflects the medium-term price trend in the stock.
Snap ( SNAP ) continues to rebound following bullish comments by UBS on prospects of better results in 2018. The Snapchat social network is also reportedly seeking to attract older generation consumers of social media. However, institutions are going to continue scrutinizing the Venice, Calif., firm's ability to go from bleeding red ink to turning an actual operating profit.
Snap is expected to lose 65 cents a share this year and lose 57 cents in 2018. The large-cap company is a member of IBD's internet content industry group.
In contrast, Floor & Decor has earned a profit every year since at least 2011. The Smyrna, Ga., firm is expected to see an 11% drop in fourth-quarter profit to 16 cents a share after earnings surged 64% in the year-ago quarter. But earnings are still seen rising 16% to 66 cents a share for the full year and jump another 29% to 85 cents in 2018.
Floor & Decor grew earnings per share by 114%, 133%, 64%, 75%, 47% and 21% vs. year-ago levels in the past six quarters. The EPS Rating is a sterling 97.
Canada Goose ( GOOS ) edged up nearly 0.6% to 27.90, aiming for a fifth gain in six sessions. The marketer of ultra luxury winter coats and cold weather apparel has performed like a stock market leader since its Oct. 31 breakout from a four-month cup with handle.
Notice how the breakout got off to a rough start three days into the Halloween move. Yet shares did not dip more than 7% to 8% below the proper buy point of 21.84 (10 cents above the handle's high), nor did they touch the upward-sloping 50-day moving average. Thus, Canada Goose did not trigger the golden sell rule of investing.
At this point, watch for a secondary entry point to possibly emerge.
The Toronto-based firm posted a 32% rise in third-quarter profit to 29 cents a share as sales jumped 35% to $172.3 million. That was Canada Goose's fifth quarter in a row of healthy double-digit top-line growth.
As seen in IBD Stock Checkup , Canada Goose boasts a maximum 99 Composite Rating on a scale of 1 to 99 and the Accumulation/Distribution Rating, which analyzes price-and-volume action over 13 trailing weeks, is bullish at B+.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
