The major market indexes recovered from Wednesday's sell-off by moving higher on lower volume on the heels of the European Central Bank's decision to lower interest rates on that side of the pond. The much anticipated monthly BLS jobs report came in with 176,000 jobs this morning vs. expectations of 166,000. This has sent the futures up sharply this morning, extending the market's "impossible" rally.
Apple (AAPL) continues its bounce as it holds above its 50-day moving average and its rising price now makes it 7% of the NASDAQ Composite, thus its move is contributing to the strength in that index as it moves to a 12-year high. This seems in keeping with the nature of this market wherein a good deal of the indexes' march higher is driven by stocks coming up from lows.
LinkedIn (LNKD) gapped down about 10% after-hours yesterday on a weak earnings report that featured below-consensus revenue guidance. In the days leading up to this report, LNKD showed up days on increasing volume, a sign of strength. This illustrates the challenging market environment during "earnings roulette" season. This morning the stock is holding roughly at the top of its prior consolidation, and for investors who might try to hold through this pullback, the 50-day moving average remains your ultimate selling guide, although we would view a high-volume gap-down off the peak as a very negative sign for the stock.
Fleetcor Technologies (FLT), we which reported on after it issued a continuation pocket pivot buy point on Tuesday of this week, went the other way as an "earnings roulette" winner as it moved about 10% higher yesterday in after-hours trade after beating on earnings.