Equities retreated further yesterday but finished off their lows. For the S&P 500 (^SPC) the candlesticks registered in the last two sessions can both be "contained" within the long green candlestick from last Friday. As the broad indices are stalling many individual stocks are now poised within ascending wedge patterns and I suspect that it would only take a small catalyst to re-energize the bulls.



One sector fund that seems primed for a directional breakout is IGW which represents the semiconductors.



The Hang Seng Index (^HSI) has made steady upwards progress in recent sessions and is now firmly positioned above the 200 day EMA. Today's close also places the index just above the 38% retracement level from the September 2007 high and the March low.



Last week's suggestion that "Dryships (DRYS) shows a breakout...with capacity for further immediate progress" was well rewarded in yesterday's session.



Dominion Resources (D) has pulled back on very light volume towards the convergence of all three moving averages.



TJX still looks appealing on the short side.



Protein Design Labs (PDLI) is carving out a bullish flag pattern but may want to retreat a little further to the moving averages just below $13



Clive Corcoran is the publisher of TradeWithForm.com, which provides daily analysis and commentary on the US stock market. He specializes in market neutral investing and and is currently working on a book about the benefits of trading with long/short strategies, which is scheduled for publication later this year.

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