Several hours before the bell rang in New York, the price action looked quite upbeat, but a poor ADP jobs number and more pressure on bonds caused a mood shift and robbed the market of early support and dip buyers.
Breadth isn't terrible with around 3,100 gainers to 4,400 decliners, but there is a lack of strong bids and the stocks that are up to don't have much momentum. My list of 10% movers is very short, and there aren't any major positive themes at work.
In this sort of action, I focus on some of the thinner small-caps that I like, which are drifting lower on lack of support. We can never know how low they will go, but I have long-term confidence in a number of names, so I tend to build shorter-term positions into weakness when I can.
Many of these names I've discussed here quite a bit, but a few that I'm looking at again today are: Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) , Westwater Resources (WWR) , Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) , Ammo, Inc. (POWW) , Elys Game Technology (ELYS) , texas Mineral Resources (TMRC) , Alto Ingredients (ALTO) , Xeris Pharmaceuticals (XERS) , Net Element (NETE) , Horizon Therapeutics (HZNP) , Lordstown Motors (RIDE) , HyreCar (HYRE) , Butterfly Network (BFLY) , Ocular Therapeutix (OCUL) , Evogene (EVGN) , Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp. II (BFT) and Village Farms International (VFF) .
All those names, I believe, have potential positive catalysts, but they all can drift lower in a poor market. There is no reason to rush in and make big buys, but if you buy incrementally and use stops if they keep slipping, there is a good chance of catching some bounces when market conditions improve.
