The Real Deal. Fri Mar 13

The US indices were up strongly last night and for once we've followed enthusiastically. The xjo is up 100 points or 3.1% and so I doubt if there'll be too much more in it today. Maybe, a bit of a pullback as the early buyers get set and a tick up nearer the close.

I plan to put on a couple of longer term positions but I want to wait for a pullback. I've learnt to my cost over the years that you're generally better off buying at the end of the day if it's a strong open and there are a few stocks that are giving very strong weekly indications that they're going to continue to run. I'll throw in a few weekly charts to illustrate.

This one is ipl and as for most stocks, it's the first higher low for over 18 months.

This one, above, is wbc and there was a higher low in April last year which gave a bear market rally of a few dollars. This looks a bit stronger as the downside momentum is quite limited.

Cba is also making a nice clear set up.

There are a few others in various stages of maturity. Wpl and wes, bhp and rio are further along and asx shot up early in the week from similar formations.

1.11 Getting back to my regulars, I can't find any trades at this point as the market after peaking at up 110 points is now sitting up 101. There hasn't been enough of a retreat to buy a bullish resumption in the strong ones and the only weak one is wow and that's chopping around. The weekly trades I'm interested in are too far gone for the moment. There is a stock in the bigger group that I watch, Link energy or lnc, and that has been running. It had a sharp pull back of 37 cents back to a breakout level around 1.60 and I think there's a good chance it could rally late in the day. Ideally I'd like to see an hour or so of slow retreat from here to give me a chance to get in on a bullish candlestick.

3.11 Some of my stocks have resumed after a pullback but I didn't take any of the trades as they didn't quite seem to have drifted far enough. In retrospect, wpl would have been worth taking.

3.19 Just bought some mqg as they're looking very strong but I have to go soon so I need a quick turnaround.

3.30 I've got to leave shortly and a quick round up gives one trade in mqg, very short term. I'm hoping to buy some lnc to hold overnight as the stock is consolidating nicely and pushing up towards a breakout. It's touch and go right now.

The overriding theme is that a lot of stocks look very positive now for the first time in a very long time. I'd like to see a bit of consolidation sometime in the next few trading days in order to get set in some longer term positions.

3.39 The hoped for explosion into the close in mqg hasn't happened so out quickly at 1928. Hoping for lnc but nothing yet.