It was a mixed day of action on Tuesday, but small-caps outperformed, and some select growth names performed well. Breadth was robust with around 5300 gainers to 2570 decliners, but the Nasdaq was slightly negative, and other major indices were flat. The strength was hidden, and the overall action had a dull feel which may have been a hangover from the long holiday weekend.
The leading group on Tuesday was oil which is reflective of growing strength due to reopening the economy. Pharmaceuticals like Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Abbott (ABT) are running into issues and are no longer the safe havens they once were.
The meme names, and AMC Entertainment (AMC) in particular, continue to attract interest as individual traders are anxious to roll the dice on some speculative names. That speculative interest is spilling over into small-caps, but they are far from the sort of euphoria that occurred back in early February.
Probably the best news right now is that individual stock picking has improved, and small-caps are benefiting. There was some profit-taking yesterday following a couple of weeks of strength, but it was just some routine consolidation.
Cryptos are indicated higher this morning but remain quite volatile. There is some increased interest in SPACs, but most remain near NAV while traders regain some confidence.
It is a little slow out there, and the senior indices are mixed, but the action under the surface favors stock picking and trading. The potential for volatility is high, so it is important to manage trades closely.
Early indications are for a mixed start, AMC is blasting higher, and Bitcoin is bouncing.
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