We have a little bounce action after yesterday's pounding but trust levels are low and you have to wonder how much of an appetite there will be for buying in front of the weekend when this North Korea issue is still extremely uncertain. Donald Trump was supposed to create uncertainty in the market after his was elected but that hasn't been the case until now. This is the sort of uncertainty that the bears have been warning about since the election and it is having market impact.
Breadth is running a bit better than even but the ratio of new highs to lows is 32-223 and small caps are in the red. There is some interest in the more liquid FAANG names like Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL) but it is going to be interesting if that persists into the close today.
My game plan right now is to remain patient and to identify potential targets to buy as things develop. One of my favorites is The Trade Desk (TTD) which had a great report last night and is seeing some 'sell the news' action today. That has been the theme throughout earnings season but should offer up some opportunity eventually.
On my radar, the best three earnings reports of the quarter are TTD, Arista Networks (ANET) and SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) and I'll be watching those three for good entries. This quarter has been great as far as numbers but very poor as far as reaction. That is a big part of what is impacting the market right now as well.
I've been rooting for some corrective action for a while and it is refreshing to see an increase in volatility but now the job is to navigate the opportunities in a way to be ready just in case this finally is the start of the correction that has been predicted so loudly for so long.
The main job right now is simply identifying the stocks you may want to buy at some point.