Major averages fell hard yesterday on mixed volume. Volume came in heavier on the NYSE but lighter on the NASDAQ. However, volume picked up sharply in the last hour of the day as the market sell-off accelerated. Leading stocks were hit hard. The price of oil continued to plummet triggering investors' nerves. While global demand has been weak, this current correction in oil is more due to too much supply due to the fracking revolution in the U.S. as well as the price war spurred by Saudi Arabia. Indeed, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister made it pretty clear that he is in no hurry to help stop the slide in prices when he reiterated on Wednesday: “Why should we cut production? Why?” A strong dollar has also added to the selling pressure.
While lower oil prices can help the global economy, leading stocks have been underperforming during the bounce which began in October and have been hit hard over the last few days. So selling stocks short that are in prime positions during the bounce has been a viable strategy, and the weak action in the general markets over the last few days has made such positions even more profitable.
We maintain our longer-term downside price targets for Tesla Motors (TSLA) at 177-178 and the lows of the prior cup-with-handle base from which the stock's breakout attempt failed three months ago, and for Workday (WDAY) at the prior base low of 75.23. However, short-sellers should have been working these up higher in their patterns based on our original discussions of TSLA and WDAY as short-sale targets some time ago.