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 DAILY AFTER-MARKET UPDATE
Thursday, November 20, 2008 | 6:39PM

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Indices       NYSE       Nasdaq    
Dow -444.99 7,552.29 -5.56%   Volume 10,270,691,000 +39% Volume 3,200,612,000 +32%
Nasdaq -70.30 1,316.12 -5.07% Advancers  344 9% Advancers  426 14%
S&P 500 -54.14 752.44 -6.71% Decliners  3,414 90% Decliners  2,526 83%
Russ. 2000 -27.07 385.31 -6.56% 52 Wk Highs 45   52 Wk Highs 2  
S&P 600 -14.12 208.21 -6.35% 52 Wk Lows 1,684   52 Wk Lows 1,272  


 CLOSING  MARKET COMMENTARY  
S&P 500 Index Plunges To 1997 Levels - Adam Sarhan, Contributing Writer, www.CANSLIM.net

As the major averages plunged to new multi-year lows, the volume totals spiked on both major stock exchanges, clearly suggesting that large institutional investors (the I criteria) were aggressively dumping stocks. Decliners trumped advancers by a 10-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 6-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq exchange. There were no high-ranked company from the CANSLIM.net Leaders List that made a new 52-week high and appeared on the CANSLIM.net BreakOuts Page, lower than the one issue that appeared the prior session. The BreakOuts Page at CANSLIM.net is often flooded with high-ranked leaders during bull market periods, but recently there have been few if any stocks making the grade.  Stocks making new 52-week lows continued substantially outnumbering new 52-week highs on both major exchanges, while new highs on the Nasdaq exchange remained in the single digits. The dearth of leadership reiterates the importance of remaining cautious until a new batch of leadership emerges.

Charts courtesy www.stockcharts.com

The latest round of disappointing economic data was released and lawmakers postponed voting on a plan to rescue the ailing auto industry. All of the major averages clearly violated their October 10th lows after a six week consolidation, plunging to new multi-year lows. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell below its 2002 bear market bottom and closed the session at its lowest level since 1997 - having erased more than a decade of stock market gains! The S&P 500 is now more than -52% percent below its October 2007 record high, making the current bear market the second biggest on record.  The current decline is exceeded only by the 83% drop between 1930 and 1932, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. 

Leadership has been virtually nonexistent in recent months, which has reiterated the importance of remaining in cash with a strong defensive stance until the selling abates. Financial stocks continued to lead the market lower, best evidenced when shares of Citigroup Inc. (C -26.41%) nosedived and closed below the $5 threshold, which classifies it as a "penny stock". Many large institutional investors are prohibited from buying stocks that trade under $5 due to liquidity issues, let alone the notion of buying it on margin. Sellers have pounded nearly every major industry group this year.

PICTURED: The Dow Jones Industrial Average sliced below its October 10th low, falling on very heavy volume - indicative of heavy institutional selling!  The blue chip index plunged to a new multi-year lows not seen since March of 2003.


Adam Sarhan is a Registered Representative and Vice President of Investments with Source Capital Group (Member FINRA,SIPC) and offers a suite of services for individual and institutional investors. Mr. Sarhan earned a BA and MA in Political Science from Florida Atlantic University and he is well versed in capital markets. In addition, Mr. Sarhan completed the CAN SLIM® Masters Program presented by Investor's Business Daily. Investors with a significant financial interest may inquire about opening an account by calling the office locally at 954-785-1990 or 1-888-237-8399 or emailing to asarhan@sourcegrp.com. Further information is always available upon request. Contact us if you know anyone that may have an interest in receiving this or any of our other products.

 INDUSTRY  GROUP  WATCH  
The commentary and table below will show you important industry and/or sector information through today's close. Tracking certain areas or sectors for leadership characteristics helps you to find individual stocks with the "L" in CAN SLIM® - Leaders in a leading group
Widespread Losses Across All Industry Groups Again - Kenneth J. Gruneisen, Founder & Contributing Writer, www.CANSLIM.net

Energy related shares were standout decliners on Thursday as the Oil Services ($OSX -15.87%) and Integrated Oil ($XOI -11.17%) indexes fell hard.  Financial stocks were hammered with huge losses as the Bank ($BKX -9.60%) and Broker/Dealer ($XBD -8.07%) indexes plummeted.  The Healthcare ($HMO -9.05%) group offered investors no safe haven as its vital signs continued deteriorating rapidly.  The tech sector dug its heels in and traded with a positive bias for most of Thursday's session, but the late-afternoon slide was broad based and pressured the Biotechnology ($BTK -5.82%), Internet ($DOT -4.31%), Networking ($NWX -4.08%), and Semiconductor ($SOX -3.26%) indexes, ending unanimously into the red. The Retail Index ($RLX -4.03%) was also smacked with a big loss.  The Gold & Silver Index ($XAU -2.54%) was a "pocket of strength" as its loss was small relative to the other group indices.

Charts courtesy www.stockcharts.com 
 

PICTURED: The Oil Services Index ($OSX -15.87%) is now down a staggering -71.06% from its July 2008 high.

 
Industry Index Symbol Close Change % Change YTD % Change
Gold & Silver $XAU   70.08  -1.83  -2.54%  -59.57% 
Semiconductor $SOX   171.32  -5.78  -3.26%  -57.96% 
Retail $RLX   213.50  -8.96  -4.03%  -47.56% 
Networking $NWX   118.44  -5.04  -4.08%  -54.61% 
Internet $DOT   149.90  -6.75  -4.31%  -46.91% 
Biotech $BTK   541.81  -33.48  -5.82%  -30.86% 
Broker/Dealer $XBD   52.99  -4.65  -8.07%  -73.97% 
Healthcare $HMO   690.23  -68.71  -9.05%  -67.42% 
Bank $BKX   36.72  -3.90  -9.60%  -58.04% 
Integrated Oil $XOI   761.30  -95.70  -11.17%  -51.28% 
Oil Services $OSX   105.41  -19.88  -15.87%  -65.16% 


FEATURED  STOCKS UPDATE  

Latest Notes on All Featured Stocks | Recently Featured Stock Updates
The stocks below have been recently featured by CANSLIM.net. Our experts monitor these stocks and post updates on noteworthy action here.

Buy on Fundamentals and Technicals; Sell on Technicals! - Kenneth J. Gruneisen, Founder & Contributing Writer, www.CANSLIM.net

One of the critical characteristics of successful investing is knowing when to sell. Investors are best served when they buy based on the combination of strong fundamentals and technicals, then sell based on the technicals. The reason is because fundamentals often tend to lag a stock's technical condition and come to light later to help explain the technical chart action after the fact.  

Almost Family Inc. (AFAM -$3.50 or -9.78% to $39.27) gapped down today for a considerable loss on heavy volume, violating an upward trendline, its 50 DMA line, and prior chart lows. Those support violations are considered technical sell signals, and its late-stage breakout has been completely negated. Concerns were already raised by some obvious distribution (institutional selling) occurring in the 11/10/08 to 11/12/08 period. Institutional holders in this small firm have generally been on the rise over the longer term. However, the weak close at the lower portion of today's trading range may be considered an indication that some of the funds that owned and had been accumulating shares are now choosing to abandon the stock.  The next chart support lies at its 200 DMA line and its October lows, both coinciding in the $30 area  Its strength in a difficult market environment (the M criteria) throughout this year has made it an attention grabbing leader.  It had been consolidating and recently noted, "prior highs in the $43 area are now an important support level to watch above its 50 DMA line."  Follow a sell discipline to protect and lock in profits and always limit losses whenever any stock falls more than 7-8% from your buy point.

Below are two annotated graphs, one of which is today's daily graph showing the technical sell signals that have just occurred. Also included is a repeat appearance of the weekly graph just included 2 days ago in this Featured Stock Update section under the headline, "Outlier's Strength May Be Considered Late-Stage Action". The company has shown solid sales revenues growth and its quarterly and annual earnings increases have been reported well above the +25% guideline, which satisfies the C & A criteria. It recently reported strong sales revenues and earnings increases for the quarter ended September 30, 2008, and volume and volatility often increase in response to fundamental news (earnings).  Another positive was increasing ownership by top-rated mutual funds (the I criteria - institutional buying, see paragraph above).  AFAM traded up +122% after it was first featured in yellow in the Wednesday, May 21, 2008 in the CANSLIM.net Mid Day Breakouts Report (read here).

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  Y - Today's better buy candidates based on the CAN SLIM® investment system and  highlighted by our staff of experts.   G - Previously featured in this report as yellow and now may no longer be buyable under the guidelines.

NOTE : ADDED FEATURES: Click the company name to view each selection's CANSLIM.net Stock Profile including a full summary of recent and previous analysis by our experts. On the CANSLIM.net Featured Stocks Page you can now click the column headings to alternately sort all currently Featured Stocks in ascending/descending order.
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Last Updated Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 4:34:00 PM by Kenneth Gruneisen and the expert staff at CANSLIM.net

Export to Excel (Most recent data)

Symbol/Exchange
Company Name
Industry Group 		Last Chg. Vol
(% DAV)		 Date when First Featured Price when First Featured Latest Pivot Point
Featured		 Status Resources
Latest Max Buy Price
AFAM - NASDAQ
Almost Family Inc
HEALTH SERVICES - Home Health Care  		$39.27 -3.50 881318
(269.19%) 		5/21/2008 $24.27 PP = $42.80
G

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MB = $44.94
Most Recent Note - 11/20/2008 6:35:30 PM
G - Gapped down today, raising serious concerns while violating its 50 DMA line and prior chart lows. Those support violations are considered technical sell signals, as its late-stage breakout has been completely negated. The next chart support lies at its 200 DMA line and its October lows, both coinciding in the $30 area. - Kenneth J. Gruneisen, CAN SLIM® Certified, Registered Principal, Source Capital Group, Inc. (Members FINRA, SIPC)
>>> The latest Featured Stock Update appearance was 11/20/2008 including detailed analysis and an annotated graph. To View, click here.
View all notes | Alert me of new notes | CANSLIM.net Company Profile
GXDX - NASDAQ
Genoptix Inc
HEALTH SERVICES - Medical Laboratories & Researc  		$31.36 -2.60 498125
(206.18%) 		8/7/2008 $37.25 PP = $39.89
G

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MB = $41.88
Most Recent Note - 11/20/2008 6:34:31 PM
G - Loss today on heavier volume was a sign of more distributional pressure as it violated its 50 DMA line, triggering a technical sell signal. Color code was changed to green based on weakness while, technically, its outlook is uncertain without a solid breakout above stubborn resistance in the $38 area. Its small supply of only 8.93 million shares (the S criteria) outstanding can contribute to great volatility. Always be careful to limit losses at 7-8% if a stock ever falls that much from the purchase price. First featured in the 8/07/08 CANSLIM.net Mid-Day Breakouts Report (read here). - Kenneth J. Gruneisen, CAN SLIM® Certified, Registered Principal, Source Capital Group, Inc. (Members FINRA, SIPC)
>>> The latest Featured Stock Update appearance was 11/4/2008 including detailed analysis and an annotated graph. To View, click here.
View all notes | Alert me of new notes | CANSLIM.net Company Profile

  ABBREVIATION KEY
 C = Current Quarterly Earnings | A = Annual Earnings Comparisons | N = New High / New Product or Service in Demand | S = Shares Outstanding | L = Leader in a Leading Group | I = Institutional Ownership | M = Market Direction | PP = Pivot Point | MB = Maximum Buy Price Under the Guidelines |



Kenneth J. Gruneisen has successfully completed the CAN SLIM® Certification Program.  Mr. Gruneisen is a Registered Principal and manages a Source Capital Group Member FINRA,SIPC) branch office offering personalized assistance. Investors with a significant financial interest in equities may inquire about opening an account by calling the office locally at (954) 785-1990 or 1-888-237-8399 or emailing to kgruneisen@sourcegrp.com. Further information is always available upon request. Contact us if you know anyone that may have an interest in receiving this or any of our other reports.

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THESE ARE NOT BUY RECOMMENDATIONS!  Comments contained in the body of this report are technical opinions only. The material herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable and accurate, however, its accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. CANSLIM.net is not an investment advisor, hence it does not endorse or recommend any securities or other investments. Any recommendation contained in this report may not be suitable for all investors and it is not to be deemed an offer or solicitation on our part with respect to the purchase or sale of any securities. All trademarks, service marks and trade names appearing in this report are the property of their respective owners, and are likewise used for identification purposes only.

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