The action is very mixed as we await the FOMC's interest rate decision. We aren't seeing much volatility, as most of the positioning for the news has already been done.
Breadth is just about even with steel, chips, bios and oil leading, while retail, pharmaceuticals and precious metals lag. The weakness in gold and silver is leading some traders to believe that the Fed isn't going to announce any major QE program today, but the overall market seems more optimistic.
The consensus seems to be that the Fed will extend Operation Twist but hold off on further QE programs until the next meeting. If so, will it be enough for this market? I'm doubtful and I am going to go into the Fed announcement defensively.
I've done a bit more selling this morning but added Neptune Technologies & Bioresources (NEPT), a small biotech breaking out of a nice consolidation with volume. Another one I'm watching is VirnetX Holding (VHC), which is perking on talk that Apple (AAPL) may be moving to settle a patent suit VHC filed against it and other major technology companies. The stock is still within its base but has an interesting stair-step pattern over the last couple of months.
