Poor jobs news yesterday brought in some buyers, while the better-than-expected unemployment claims numbers this morning are triggering some selling. The ISM services number is weak and more than half of retailers missed their April sales numbers, which isn't helping matters. But it is interesting how quickly the signs of momentum we saw yesterday have dried up.
As I've been writing, I suspect that the upside action lately has been driven more by skeptics who fear that they will miss out on a market rally than it is by real bullish conviction. When we do have selling pressure, the doubts come to the fore quite quickly and the momentum immediately dries up.
It is not an easy environment to trade as the momentum is extremely inconsistent. Whether a chase works is very random and I'm hearing a lot of complaints from traders who suddenly find themselves trapped in quick reversals.
I'm mainly playing defense this morning, but am watching the Facebook sympathy plays that should heat up next week as the road show starts
A few names to watch include LinkedIn (LNKD) (which has earnings tonight, GSV Capital (GSVC), Firsthand Technology Value Fund (SVVC), GLU Mobile (GLUU), Quepasa (QPSA), Renren (RENN) and Ecommerce China Dangdang (DANG). There isn't much quality there, but there may be some action nonetheless.
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