Stocks are struggling to consolidate Tuesday's gains and are also dealing with some rotation. There isn't much follow-through in yesterday's big gains although the FAANG names and Amazon (AMZN) , in particular, are holding up well. At around 180, there are a fair amount of new 12-month highs, so momentum is definitely not dead.
The rotational action is the main theme today. We have weakness in semiconductors after a good bounce Tuesday, in large part due to a poor reaction to quarterly results from Lam Research (LRCX) . Financials are still struggling although Morgan Stanley (MS) is helping the group.
Precious Metals and Oil
The main interest right now is in oil and precious metals. There was a large gap up this morning in silver and it is attracting quite a bit of interest. I'm holding both iShares Silver Trust (SLV) and SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) . The gold chart is developing very well and I'll be looking to add to that. Most of the individual stocks in the mining sector tend to move in tandem so I prefer to use the ETFs. There can be some better movement in small mining names but it is a hard group in which to differentiate.
Small oils are also quite energetic and continue to develop. Names I've mentioned recently that I like are W&T Offshore (WTI) , Mammoth Energy (TUSK) , Sanchez Energy (SN) and Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) .
MLPs
A subset of the energy group is the energy Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs). This group has turned up and stocks such as Boardwalk Pipeline Partners (BWP) , Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) and Hess Midstream (HESM) are showing life.
Biotechnology
The third sector that I favor is biotechnology. The group has been out of favor recently, but it offers some interesting speculative opportunities. Right now there is some concern about President Trump's policies on drug pricing but it should not negatively impact many of these names. A few that I am looking to accumulate include Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) , Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) and Vericel Corp. (VCEL) .
The market action is quite choppy today as these rotations take hold. Good opportunities are developing.
