full-time investing; total portfolio up over 130% in 2009; but 2010 sucks!
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CCME news was a bit of a long-term business bet they are making. They are obligating CCME to pay the bus company for a number of years, raising the price they pay out annually. In other words, they are increasing CCME costs over the term of the contract with the bus line. They still have the business challenge (and additional cost) of selling the advertising and supplying entertainment audio/video feeds to each bus at prices that more than cover what they pay the bus line annually.
There's no clear way to determine how much profit can be made on the deal at this early date.
08:39 CKGT: China Kangtai Cactus Biotech reports Q1 adj. EPS of $0.04 vs $0.04 in 1Q09; revs grew 66% YoY to $5.5 mln (no ests) (2.10)
"Sales of raw and intermediate materials were up 170% to $1.6 million. This had a negative impact on our gross margin because the gross profit rate for raw and intermediate materials is about 11%, compared with substantially higher margins in the other two categories."
WDR's large sale of 75,000 emini contracts contributed to flashcrash last wk. (nothing improper or illegal)...
Reuters reported Friday that the sale of 75,000 e-mini contracts, a liquid futures contract linked to the S&P 500 Index, accounted for 9% of e-mini trading volume on May 6, citing a document provided by CME Group Inc. CME did not find improper trading activity at Waddell (WDR), according to Reuters. Separately, Waddell said in a statement that the e-mini trade in question was a "longstanding and well monitored" hedging strategy and that it was one of 250 firms making similar trades at the time of the so-called flash crash.
I think VVUS will get FDA approval with flying colors. My understanding was that it was the bad Phen that was a problem with taking Phen-Phen off the market awhile back.
VVUS contains the good Phen, not the bad one. It's actually included in some existing overthecounter items now. Zija (MLM company) sells "XM3caps" which uses the good Phen (Phenylethylamine HCL) already, and it's about 3bucks a pop. It works, too.
'peeker
ps> I'm in for the good Phen, so to speak.
Bought some VVUS again today, looking for a small pop on Monday-Tuesday as they present recent details on their fat-ass cure at a health conference.
Supposedly reduces hypertension and bubble-butt.
'peeker
Harry, nice perspective. I guess you don't like having a stock you own STOP trading either. Oh, one more thing, next time you let him have it with both barrels, try not to forget the box of ammo.
Just kidding, of course, that is, I think I'm kidding, sort of...
Good luck to all TRGD stock(bag)holders!!!
I remain one piqued 'peeker.
"... and a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest ... "
Simon and Garfunkle
Thanks for jogging my TGB memory. The selloff after good earnings certainly correlates for TGB.
INTT: I daytraded 2Ksh yesterday for 5% and again today for 4%. If INTT drops back to $4, I'll try it again. Looks like great bet for strong earnings in current qtr. Not sure about after that, but backlog seems to tell the tale for this stock.
'peeker
Thanks, Kevin, pulp and lumber have been looking a little soft for the last few days. Not sure if they've rolled over yet, but stocks like TMB and MERC may come under pressure as markets recover from supply disruption (due the Chilean earthquake).
AVR.v excellent drilling results! If they can as suggested ramp to 200,000 ounces/yr, they should easily double from here in the next year.
Excellent drilling results!!!
... ... and wouldn't you know it, the stock is down a smidge today.
'peeker
INTT conference call was pretty upbeat. Anybody holding INTT thru earnings?
While their backlog bodes well for current Q2 revs and earnings (which are both expected to increase vs. Q1) , the CEO did mention they have been pretty "competitive" in their pricing, so I assume the margins will not double (as indicated in the highly optimistic SeekingAlpha article).
Still eps could be near .20/sh for Q2 based on the large q/q increase in backlog.
The recovery is helping the test equipment companies as well as the chip manufacturers. INTC said today that they are looking good for next few qtrs.
'peeker
ps> Hmmm... still not clear whether the words were enough to get another pop for INTT tomorrow. It could go either way, more buying or just selling the news. Let's hope it doesn't move into Dangerfield price range tomorrow, that is, dropping due to "no respect" for good earnings/growth (like all of Wade's stocks )
Good site for realtime Pulp price quotes?
INTT earnings out (see outlook where they expect revs and income to increase sequentially over this qtr):
inTEST Reports First Quarter 2010 Results
CHERRY HILL, N.J., May 12, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --
inTEST Corporation (Nasdaq: INTT), an independent designer, manufacturer and marketer of semiconductor automatic test equipment (ATE) interface solutions and temperature management products, today announced results for the quarter ended March 31, 2010.
Net revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 were $9.5 million, compared to $8.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2009. Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 was $1.1 million or $0.11 per diluted share, compared to $142,000 or $0.01 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2009. The net income for the fourth quarter included restructuring charges of $307,000 or $0.03 per diluted share, which represented one-time termination benefits and facility closure costs related to the relocation of our Sigma Systems subsidiary.
Robert E. Matthiessen, President and Chief Executive Officer of inTEST, commented, "The sequential and year-over-year improvements we achieved in revenue, gross margin and profitability underscore the success of our business strategy. We are benefiting from the considerable operating leverage we achieved in our business as the broader semiconductor market rebound continues. Importantly, at the same time, our results reflect our successful diversification into non-semiconductor, non-traditional markets. We now count as customers some of the world's best known companies in the military/aerospace, industrial and telecommunications industries. We are gaining momentum as manufacturers are increasingly required to verify that their products operate at set temperatures. We are also excited about significant growth opportunities in electronic sensors, whose small size is suited for being conditioned for testing by inTEST's ThermoStreams and Thermal Platforms, as well as opportunities in the microwave market in Asia and Europe, which would build on our leadership in the U.S. market."
Hugh T. Regan, Jr., Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer noted, "Bookings for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 were $14.0 million, an increase of 49% over the $9.4 million in bookings for the fourth quarter of 2009. We remain focused on controlling all operating expenses, while continuing to provide customers with the high-quality and support they have come to rely on inTEST for. We do, however, expect modest increases in expenses in the second quarter as we support key growth initiatives, including some strategic R&D investments and selected headcount additions as we meet higher customer demand levels."
Financial Outlook:
The Company expects continued improvements in net revenues and net income in the second quarter ending June 30, 2010 on both a sequential and year-over-year basis. The above outlook is based on the Company's current views with respect to operating and market conditions and customers' forecasts, which are subject to change.
Investor Conference Call / Webcast Details:
There will be a conference call with investors and analysts this evening at 5:00 pm EDT to discuss the Company's first quarter 2010 results and management's current expectations and views of the industry. The call may also include discussion of strategic, operating, product initiatives or developments, or other matters relating to the Company's current or future performance.
The dial-in number for the live audio call is 1-877-407-0784 (domestic) or +1-201-689-8560 (international). A live web cast of the conference call will be available on inTEST's website at www.intest.com. A replay of the call will be available 2 hours following the call through midnight on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at www.intest.com and by telephone at 1-877-660-6853 (domestic) or +1-201-612-7415 (international). The account number to access the replay is 3055 and the conference ID number is 349733.
INTT: I decided to punt on 3rd down (sold for 5% gain before earnings this afternoon). Still think it could be a nice mover if 5pm CC is very upbeat.
But for now I will watch and listen from the sidelines.
'peeker
Divergence between gold and silver is still there, but Ag is gaining on Au this week.
INTT ... Intteresting play on semiconductor industry. Also a play on earnings after the close and 5pm CC.
Good writeup in SeekingAlpha, but I do not believe INTT will double their margin in Q2 vs. Q1, nor do I think it reasonable for him to have suggested it.
I decided to take a small position at $4.05 (as if I needed any more excitement in my life).
Hey I'm up a dime/sh already...
Thanks to larrybaz and hweb for bringing INTT to VMC attention.
'peeker
Surprised to see that they have completed 70% of open pit mining.
"Mr. Reid continued, “Mining the El Aguila open pit is approximately 70% complete with mined ore residing in stockpiles ready to be processed. The final 30% open pit mining now underway also happens to be the highest grade part of the ore body. "
kdub, yep, probably would let TRGD go for .50 if it were allowed to trade. The big problem is we don't know how long TRGD will be prohibited from trading. Being in TARM seems much less risky at this point.
Appreciate the news on the new CFO and plans for publishing financials, but the timing of filing with SEC is up in the air. My understanding is that past auditors have always had problems resolving TRGD's complicated financials.
The three excerpts below sound great, but they do not specifically establish when financials will be published by auditors.
"David has been personally leading this effort and expects the internal financials, for the periods up to and including December 31, 2009, to be handed over to the auditor by May 31, 2010."
"Tara Gold is working diligently on the process of preparing its delinquent 10-K and 10-Q reports and plans to file these reports with the SEC as soon as possible."
"This process is expected to take a few months."
My primary concern is that we don't know how long TRGD will not trade.
GORO is "behind schedule" on commercial production at the mill. The good news is they are continuing to tune operations and work out the kinks up front.
IMHO, they will announce commercial production during June sometime, but the overall efficiency measures will not be quite what we had been led to expect 6 months ago. Over time operations will become more efficient, but the challenge is to bring new workers up to speed and use good quality control for high efficiency operations. I would expect the CEO has opted for more tuning to get things right before putting the really valuable ore thru the crushers.
There are probably some good business reasons for Reid's not declaring "commercial operations" until things are all going well. It may have to do with Hochschild agreements and when Hochschild can take certain actions (sell stock; buy more stock, etc.) or Reid's plans to issue a few more shares to Hochschild before end of current qtr.
Their continuing with additional drilling has been a positive, so hopefully they can build measure/build reserves significantly this year.
'peeker
ps> I remain a very optimistic longterm holder of GORO, though it has been frustrating to experience the delays along the way.
pps> It would be very helpful to know for sure what Reid's exit strategy is, that is, to continue dealing with the hassles of starting up the mill or just sell the whole company to Hochschild for a large chunk of change.
GREAT News!
Caveat: New CFO may mean a few adjustments to accounting treatments, and we must assume he knows how to resolve US vs. Mex accounting rules.
Salutations,
'peeker
Gordon Brown to leave 10 Downing Street:
U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown announces that he will step down; suggests Queen should contact the leader of the Conservative Party (Cameron) to seek a new government
The news should help provide some stability to the pound as it prepares to test the 1.50 resistance level. The news that Mr. Brown would step down has been expected for the past 24 hours, this brings some closure to the event. The next thing that will stabilize the government is if the Liberal Democrats and Conservative party are able to announce they have reached an agreement that will give it a majority in parliament.
Sector leaders this AM:
Sectors that are pacing the way in the early going include: Paper +8.9%, Coal KOL +8.1%, Casino +7.8%, Steel SLX +7.7%, Solar TAN +7.4%, Auto Parts +7%, Bank KBE +6.6%, Housing XHB +6.3%, Insurance KIE +6.4%, Networking +6.3%, Industrial XLI +5.8%, Disk Drive +5.8%, Reg Bank KBH +5.6%, Finance XLF +5.5%, Internet HHH +5.3%, Semi SMH +5.3%, Retail XRT +5.1%.
Nevermind; Ithaca UK quote shows it's up about 5% today on AIM.
http://www.ithacaenergy.com/ir-introduction.asp
Great company & website!
Latest details from Ithaca on Stella drilling/hydrocarbons:
http://www.ithacaenergy.com/StellaWell.asp
Can someone throw me an Ithaca quote on the UK exchange? I have no visibility to where it's currently trading on the UK's exchange.
... or point me to a website.
... it looks like a good day to be using an international trading platform, not just a US-only platform like most of us use ...
'peeker
Just about a month ago he was telling me on the phone that financials were underway and would take 3-6 months. I think that may be a direct indication that he knew the SEC was about to give him and TRGD stock the yellow card, so to speak. He also said he had decided to stop work on financials a couple of years ago due to complications between US and Mexican financial accounting treatments and a need to prioritize use of limited funds at the time. Whether it will eventually turn out to be a good thing is yet to be proven one way or the other.
The positive with TRGD is that it owns 80% of TARM, so there is value in the stock even if it stops trading as a pink sheet. IMHO, it is doubtful that he can get financials to completion before SEC decides to stop trading on the stock for 3-12 months. That doesn't mean the stock has no value; it's just not free-trading as a pink sheet. The worst case would be for the SEC to say the stock is cancelled and can never trade again. I doubt that will happen. He is probably focused on ensuring the stock can trade again after financials are completed in the next 6 months. Now why would Rich want to let the stock STOP trading publicly even temporarily? We can be cynical; maybe he even wants to buy more shares (on the cheap) himself from disgruntled shareholders who cannot wait a year. There's no way to read his mind, and there's no easy way to give him the benefit of the doubt either, as he has promised lots of things (repeatedly) in the past. He has lost lots of credibility over the last two years, but it is also in that time that he has built the most value thru TARM. If he has been anything over the years, he has been a "wheeler dealer", as he seems to love making deals to build value ... but for whom? IMHO, he's working primarily for himself, not his shareholders.
If I could sell my shares today for $.50, I'd take it, even if I knew it were going to be worth $1.00 a year from now. Why? Because I'm a disgruntled share(bag)holder who's tired of having Rich make me feel like a fool for ever trusting him.
Best of Luck to all TRGD share(or bag)holders,
'peeker
U.S. Stock Futures Gain as Europe Pledges Emergency Loan Fund
By Jeff Kearns
May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures advanced on speculation that a 720-billion euro ($928 billion) emergency-loan fund to support debt-laden European countries will keep the region’s credit crisis from spreading.
June contracts on the S&P 500 increased 2.3 percent to 1,132 at 9:58 a.m. in Tokyo, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 1.9 percent. U.S. stocks fell the most in 14 months last week, erasing their 2010 advance, as concern about Greece’s finances and a breakdown in U.S. market systems spurred the most volatile trading in a quarter century.
Stocks around the world have been battered this month amid concern European leaders won’t do enough to keep indebted nations from defaulting. Finance ministers have pledged an unprecedented loan package to make 440 billion euros available with 60 billion euros more from the EU’s budget, Spanish Economy Minister Elena Salgado at a press conference in Brussels today. The International Monetary Fund may provide a further 220 billion euros, she said.
“The positive is that everyone’s working together,” said Chris Rich, head options strategist at JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC in Chicago. “The market’s responding well to this, and it may fix things for now.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose for the first time in six days, adding 0.4 percent to 118.88.
European stocks had tumbled the most in 18 months last week. A measure of bank stocks slumped the most since March 2009. Bond yields surged across the region’s southern periphery, threatening to undermine the single currency.
May 6 Rout
Waves of electronic selling helped push the Dow Jones Industrial Average down as much as 9.2 percent on May 6, the biggest drop since the crash of 1987, before paring losses. The VIX, the benchmark index for U.S. stock options, surged 86 percent to 40.95 for the biggest weekly gain in its history.
The selloff “was a warning sign that things are not as great as they think,” said Stephen Davis, a portfolio manager at Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC, which oversees $7 billion in Purchase, New York. “I don’t think it means you need to panic, but you need to think about the stocks you’re holding and why.”
Concern about Europe’s debt overshadowed the biggest jump for U.S. payrolls in four years. The increase of 290,000 jobs exceeded the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, led by gains in private employment that indicate the economy is weaning itself from government support. The jobless rate rose to 9.9 percent from 9.7 percent as thousands of jobseekers entered the workforce.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jeff Kearns in New York at jkearns3@bloomberg.net;
Briefing.com's explanation of today's action:
The major averages saw the biggest one-day drop since 1987 this afternoon. The averages have since rebounded off the lows, but remain lower by ~5%. At today's low the Dow was down ~1000 pts as low as 9869, representing a 9.2% decline -- it has has since rebounded ~600 pts to 10,492. The S&P was down ~100 pts, and has since cut that loss in half, now -40 pts at 1121. The Nasdaq Composite has rebounded 131 pts off its intraday low and is now -83. Market volatility surged, with the VIX now up 59% at 39.64.
Although there have only been a few examples, like some of the other market panics in the past this afternoon's turbulence cannot be explained by any one factor. There has been talk of a program or system error that led to bad prices, as well as rumor of a bad trade order, which in turn caused a cascade of selling. An example of the crazy price action can be seen in the price quotes of PG, which saw 20 point drop during a 3-min span. Regardless of whether there was any one trigger for the move, it comes amid an already nervous market as fears mount around Europe.
As we stated in our 14:37 TALKX comment discussing the beginning of this afternoon meltdown, there had been a steady move away from risky assets all day today, leading to significant pressure in equities, commodities, and the euro, and strength in safe-haven assets such as the gold, the yen and the dollar. We noted earlier that a technical breach added to the selling, and then as the pressure intensified and programs took over, a freefall developed faster than quotes/charts could update.
Anybody had a chat with Mr. Biscuit about this?
FYI: IPI comments on potash prices:
IPI's mgmt on conf call said they are selling products in April at prices higher than in the previous month. They are seeing it in a variety of their markets. They need to look at in the markets they serve in Carlsbad and Utah facilities, which is a strong market for them. Co said it's virtually out of red granular potash inventory. Co said its granular white potash is around $398/ton, less a maximum of $10/ton in discounts. Co also said, other potash is selling around $390/ton, but due to imports that charge less than this, not all tons are being sold at the $390 level since they are competing with importers on a regular basis. Overall, the co said its seeing more normalized buying patterns, but not seeing the robustness they saw in 2007 and 2008. IPI sees dealers ramping up purchases for the fall application season.
Kozuh, stop switching your medications.
;~)
IAE.v news on sidetrack is out. The updated reserves report is due by end of Q2 (is that end of June?).
May 5, 2010
Successful Sidetrack at Stella
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM and CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - May 5, 2010) -
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
Ithaca Energy Inc. (TSX VENTURE:IAE)(AIM:IAE) and its wholly owned subsidiary Ithaca Energy (UK) Limited ("Ithaca" or "the Company"), an independent oil & gas company with exploration, development and production assets in the UK sector of the North Sea, is pleased to announce that a sidetrack well (30/6a-8Z) in the Stella field has confirmed a fully hydrocarbon-saturated reservoir interval in the Andrew sandstone. Successful sampling and pressure tests have also provided essential fluid composition information to appropriately size and plan the development of the Stella field.
Well 30/6a-8Z was drilled as a geological sidetrack to further appraise the Stella field, in particular to determine the nature of the hydrocarbons at an intermediate depth in the reservoir up-structure from the initial vertical well (30/6a-8). Data acquired during the operation now permit accurate interpolations to be undertaken that define the compositional changes from gas and condensate to oil with increasing depth. No further drill stem testing was required that would enhance existing data already provided by appraisal wells drilled on the crest of the structure. All objectives have been fully met by the drilling programme and the Company can now integrate this latest information into engineering studies and define the most appropriate development strategy.
The well intersected an 18 foot (true vertical thickness) section of Paleocene Andrew sandstone reservoir, a similar thickness to that seen in other wells on and near the Stella structure. A full suite of wireline logs have been acquired and indicate porosities up to 27% providing further confirmation of the lateral extent and quality of the reservoir interval. A full set of pressure data has been acquired to allow the Company to commence detailed analysis to determine the depth of the gas/oil contact in the Andrew reservoir, above the light oil encountered in the vertical well (30/6a-8). Data was also gathered over the Ekofisk chalk interval penetrated by the well.
Ithaca has commissioned Sproule Associates Limited to provide an updated reserves report that will reflect the results of this drilling programme. The report is expected before the end of Q2 2010, at which time a further announcement will be made.
ATPG earnings tomorrow: (should be interesting BOP questions about Telemark hub, etc.)
ATP Oil & Gas Corporation (NASDAQ: ATPG) will host a live conference call on Thursday, May 6th at 11:00 am CDT to discuss the company's first quarter results followed by a Q&A session. ATP expects to issue a press release announcing first quarter results before the market opens on Thursday, May 6th.
Date: Thursday, May 6, 2010
Time: 12:00 pm EDT; 11:00 am CDT; 10:00 am MDT and 9:00 am PDT
ATP invites interested persons to listen to the live webcast on the company's website at www.atpog.com. Phone participants should dial 800-768-6570. A digital replay of the conference call will be available at 888-203-1112, ID# 5441302, for a period of 24 hours beginning at 3:00 pm CDT at www.atpog.com.
Market Internals:
The Nasdaq is down 3.5% to 2412, the S&P 500 is down 2.7% to 1170 and the Dow is down 2.5% to 10876. Action has come on above avg volume (NYSE 626 mln vs avg of 463 mln; NASDAQ 1.43 bln vs avg of 1.09 bln), with decliners outpacing advancers (NYSE advancers/decliners 366/2650, NASDAQ advancers/decliners 297/2379) with new highs outpacing new lows (NYSE new highs/new lows 67/24, and NASDAQ new highs/new lows 40/32).
ETF relative strength:
Sector: Volatility-VXX +9.5%, 20+ yr Treasuries-TLT +1.2%, Pharma-PPH +0.3%
Regional: Thailand +3.5%, U.S. Dollar-UUP +1.0%, Yen-FXY +0.1%.
ETF relative weakness:
Sector: Airlines-FAA -5.9%, Solar-TAN -5.2%, Jr Gold Miners-GDXJ -5.1%, Metals and mining-XME -4.6%, Steel-SLX -4.4%, Semis-SMH/IGW -4.3%, Wind Energy-FAN -4.2%, Silver-SLV -4.0%.
Regional: Poland-PLND -8.0%, Spain-EWP -7.2%, Italy-EWI -6.3%, Austria-EWO -5.7%, Australia-EWA -5.4%, Sweden-EWD -5.2%, Russia-RSX -5.1%.
MMT.v/MAUXF.pk: Mart Resources, Inc. Announces Annual Filings Under National Instrument 51-101-Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities
Press Release Source: Mart Resources, Inc. On Tuesday May 4, 2010, 8:30 am EDT
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - May 4, 2010) - Mart Resources, Inc. (TSX VENTURE:MMT - News; "Mart" or the "Company") announces that it has filed its Form 51-101F1 - Statement of Reserves Data and Other Oil and Gas Information for its year ended December 31, 2009. The Corporation has also filed Form 51-101F2 - Report of Independent Qualified Reserves Evaluators and Form 51-101F3 - Report of Management and Directors on Reserves Data and Other Information, all under National Instrument 51-101. These filings can be accessed electronically on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) website: www.sedar.com.
VVUS ramping up (+4.5%) today. Their pill for treatment of obesity (lard-assitis) seems to have a good chance.
ATPG: ATP Oil & Gas Corporation (NASDAQ:ATPG) President Leland E. Tate will speak to investors at the Credit Suisse OTC at the Four Seasons Houston on Tuesday, May 4th beginning at 11:45 am CT (12:45pm ET). The presentation is a condensed version of the April 22, 2010 presentation posted on ATP's website at www.atpog.com. Mr. Tate's brief remarks will be followed by a Q&A session in which he will be joined by Brian C. Nelson, ATP's Vice President of Finance. The conference is not being webcast.
Very volatile PMs:
http://www.magyver.com/metals.htm
This is a great site for realtime PM charts and prices.
Swing Trader: Sell in May and Go Away?
It has been a very choppy market over the last two weeks as the S&P develops a loose range around the 1200-level. Day to day volatility has jumped as indicated by the VIX trading back over the 20-level, not seen since February. At the very least this suggest investors/traders have become skittish on the value of stocks at current levels and pre-cautionary measures should be taken into account as we enter the month of May.
Don't forget the old axiom of "Sell in May and Go Away." It's not perfect, but like any Wall St saying, there's often enough evidence to suggest some truth to it. If one was to take into account the S&P is up over 80% from the March 2009 low, up +19% from the October 2009 low (Oct-May historically the most bullish time for stocks), and up as much as +9% since January this year, then selling in May probably doesn't look so bad.
A closer look at the Daily SPX chart below shows the choppy action around the 1200-level and the rising 20-day exponential moving average as earnings season continues. There's been plenty of headlines concerning the debt of the PIGS, lawsuits against GS, and more recently with the Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which have all made for some very choppy day to day activity with some aggressive distribution days over the last 3-weeks. This type of action carries potential for lower prices as we enter May and we need to be aware of key support levels going forward.
The 1178/1181 zone appears to be the first key support to focus on in coming days. If that is broken, then the 50-day simple/exponential moving averages will be in play around 1167/1171. If the 50-day ma's are taken out then we should look to the 38% retracement of the Feb/April range which lies around the 1152 area.
http://www.briefing.com/common/images/content/pagecontent/InDepth/20100504085311May4SPX.jpg