A day like any other day

On a day like today -- a wildly down opening, and with massive gaps -- the first item to seek is relative strength. Which stocks among those you track rebound first and with alacrity?

Among my list of opportunities, I note beguiling strength in the following:
Abbott Labs/ABT, Colgate-Palmolive/CL, Clorox/CLX, General Mills/GIS, Heinz/HNZ, Hologic/HOLX, Intuitive Surgical/ISRG (again bouncing off that trend line!), Kellogg/K, Kimberly Clark/KMB, Pepsi/PEP, Research in Motion/RIMM, and Zumiez/ZUMZ. This list could change, and probably will, as the day proceeds.

From this narrowed list, I watch for follow-on strength via studying the intra-day patterns. Subtle clues will abound, and are there for the discerning investor. It would not be a surprise should the market continue its downtrend to several days (or more) from an opening gap down and intra-day decline. Invest with discipline, as always.

Of course, if you proceed with a trader's mindset, then openings such as today's are manna from heaven -- you simply act rather than watch. And then you watch the intra-day patterns build; if they assume a bearish tilt, you sell rather than hope.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist