Very notable on Friday were three distinct phenomena. First, despite it being an âunemployment Fridayâ along with a huge market day, volume was less than ¾ of what it was in the SPY and 2/3 the pace of the QQQQ on the day before (Thursday). Second, the VIX- the main measure of volatility- barely moved down. Finally, oil prices notably closed down. All of these are notable âbearishâ signs, but that is not the point here. Rather, what is important is that the market stormed higher on the heels of positive comments from a top banking analyst about BAC which in turn led to buying in the other financials as well as hope for the financial stimulus package. We as day traders must focus on the immediate-term. I have made this point time and time againâ¦and yet it something that so many traders are guilty of violating. Consistently, what I heard (and admittedly found myself thinking every now and again on Friday) were things like: âthat GS just isnât rallying anymore,â just after it had hit a new high and backtracked 15 cents in five minutes. The problem of course is that we as a group are so used to a bad market that seeing green consistently on our screens in the ânet changeâ column is something viewed as not to trust. But again, the old saw âthe trend is your friendâ is even truer when day trading. One must rely on what he/she sees in front of him/herâ¦not what he/she thinks may happen. Prices were mixed in Asia overnight with Hong Kong up about 1% while Tokyo finished down by 1% after opening sharply higher. In Europe, equities are down about 0.5% across the board. Futures state-side are weaker as details of the bank plan slip out albeit formally delayed for full release until tomorrow. All of this just dies not seem to bode well today. The markets want (good) action now and any la is going to hurt. Look for at least a partial if not complete reversal of Fridayâs gains with rumors driving the landscape all day. Reiterating-Please understand that if the ideas do not get to the hoped for set-ups cited below, more often than not, one should not blindly trade the symbol next to said idea. If the whole story is not there -If something is good, assume either a short thru unchanged or an A-B-A2 based on direction of the market unless specified If something is bad, assume either a buy thru unchanged or an A-B-A2 (preferably to the downside in a downside market and the upside in an upside market) based on direction of the market unless specified Good- The following stocks have good news and/or a strong technical pattern MI- closed near a high SWKS- closed near a high after posting great GS- closed near a high NFX- closed near a high RF, FITB, BAC, STI, PNC, USB, WFC, JPM, C, ZION, STT, SNV, SNV- among a list of bank stocks which are going to move today; if they open higher and go to unch, short. Otherwise, A-B-A2 off of the open. GMXR- on âMad Moneyâ on Friday night CLF- closed near a high MLI- closed near a high SOHU- solid earnings HIG- mentioned as a potential acquisition target in âThe Wall Street Journalâ DRYS- received a covenant waiver on $800 million of its debt Bad-The following stocks have bad news and/or a weak technical pattern SRCL- closed near a low MEND- closed near a low ENER- beat earnings slightly, but warned on revenue estimates for next quarter HAS- terrible earnings NYX- missed its earnings estimates WHR- missed its earnings estimates (again) and warned (again) Earnings: MON FEB 9 BEFORE AG ARE ASF BCS CTRP ENER HAS HEW L LO MCY NYX ROH WHR MON FEB 9 AFTER AFG AXS BEC CIM CMP CPT CRK CRL CUZ LNC LNCR PFG PPDI QGEN TMX UDR VECO VMC VRTX Good luck today. Erik R. Kolodny