French stocks had their best day in 5 years sending global markets higher as well. US major averages gapped higher by just over 1% on French election news and held their gains on mixed volume. The VIX, meanwhile, gapped lower to have one of its worst one-day losses in its entire history. The election news out of France came as a surprise to markets in general.
Fears have greatly diminished that Marine Le Pen could win the French presidency. Le Pen had vowed to put France up to a referendum vote, thus putting a possible "Frexit" into action should she win the presidency and threatening the stability of the EU. Political pundits have said it is highly unlikely Le Pen will win, though they said the same about Brexit and Trump. Social unrest continues to grow, having become more prevalent over the last few years, so the question is whether enough of the French voters want change as represented by Le Pen, or would rather maintain the status quo as represented by her challenger Emmanuel Macron.
Focus List Review
Most names on the Focus List were up nicely yesterday, leaving few in lower-risk entry positions. Several names are also expected to announce earnings over the next several days, including AMZN and COHR on Thursday, and others like BABA, CC, FB, SQ, and TSLA next week.
SNAP is sitting right at its 20-dema with volume drying up to the lowest levels in its entire, short trading history. This puts the stock in a lower-risk entry position using the 10-dma as a maximum selling guide, or the 20-dema as a much tighter selling guide.