MARKET GLANCE
A glance at the weekly charts of all three show that the strong move we have enjoyed probably needs to pause and consolidate. It's healthier and you don't ideally want to see stocks get to far ahead of themselves. A correction would help to reset some of the sentiment readings which have gotten a bit overly optimistic which when combined with the strong move, isn't the best combination.
For now we'll continue to stay fully invested. There have been some very nice moves off of the lows and as new leadership begins to assert itself, we can sell stocks that are approaching massive overhaning supply and enter in to ones that are breaking out of sound bases with good earnings.
U.S. DIVIDEND STOCKS
The dividend paying stocks we own are still looking very good and many have been snatched up by institutions. These include Ventas (VTR), Senior Housing (SNH), Realty Income Corp (O), Duke Realty (DUK), US Bank (USB), Wells Fargo (WFC), Mack-Cali Realty (CLI), Biomed Realty Trust (BMR), Magellan Midstream Holdings (MGG), AGL Resources (AGL), and General Electric (GE).
British Tobacco (BTI), Phillip Morris International (PM), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Procter & Gamble (PG) have lagged the rally in stocks so far.
U.S. ETF's (leaders and laggards)
The iShares Dow Jones Technology index (IYW), Dow Jones U.S. Telecom (IYZ), iShares Transportation (IYT), iShares Basic Materials (IYM), and iShares Consumer Services (IYC) are among the best looking charts. The ETF's that are really lagging this rally right now are; Healthcare, Biotechnology, Consumer Goods, Energy (not all energy stocks however), and Utilities. I will note that in each of these lagging areas, there are a few standout performers but many are midcap and smallcap.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS
I also like the current technicals (charts) of; some international indexes including; the iShares Emerging Markets ETF (EEM), Power Shares Golden Dragon (PGJ), iShares MSCI Hong Kong (EWH), and the iShares S&P Latin America 40 (ILF). These funds have really been beaten down and a number of them have moved above their 200-day moving averages and could make a powerful move higher if this market rally continues to unfold. It gives investors who missed out on the original move from several years ago in these areas a second chance.