Back in August, Jim Cramer provided a "Go List" of stocks he said would be at the heart of the recovery. Since then, those 11 stocks have rallied 36%, almost triple that of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).
Cramer told viewers of Mad Money Tuesday night that the only two laggards on his list were 3M (MMM) and Mastercard (MA) .
Let's check and see how the charts look now.
In this daily bar chart of MMM, below, we can see that prices have gone nowhere since August. The 50-day moving average line is cresting, while the 200-day moving average line is still rising. Prices are trading between these two indicators.
The On-Balance-Volume (OBV) line has been weakening since late November and suggests that sellers of MMM have been more aggressive. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) oscillator is below the zero line for an outright sell signal.
In this weekly bar chart of MMM, below, we can see what looks like a likely base pattern developing since April of 2019. A weekly close above $180 is needed for a clear upside breakout, in my opinion. MMM is trading above the rising 40-week moving average line.
The OBV line shows a multi-month rise until the middle of January when the line turns lower. The MACD oscillator has crossed to the downside for a take profit sell signal.
In this daily bar chart of MA, below, we can see a sideways trend from September to date. Prices are also trading between the 50-day average and the 200-day average as we saw (above) with MMM.
The OBV line has been stalled since September in a sideways trend suggesting a balance between buyers and sellers.
The MACD oscillator is barely above the zero line telling us there is little in the way of positive trend strength.
In this weekly bar chart of MA, below, we see a mixed to bearish picture. Prices have been in a sideways pattern since August. The rising 40-week moving average line is now not far below the market.
The weekly OBV line is starting to tilt lower after a lengthy sideways move. The MACD oscillator is still in a bearish mode.
Bottom line strategy: MMM and MA may eventually do better when investors sense that the economy is indeed going to do better, but at this juncture in time the charts and indicators suggest further sideways price action.
(Mastercard is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS member club. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells MA? Learn more now.)
