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Cisco (CSCO) stock fell on November 11 after the company announced that it would see slower revenue and earnings growth. The CEO warned that lower government spending would mean decreased sales for the computer network equipment maker. Investors were surprised to learn that revenue would probably rise by less than half of what analysts had predicted for its November-through-January quarter. |
After the news came out, the price of CSCO fell by more than 16% (Figure 1). Standard technical indicators gave no warning of the impending decline. |
FIGURE 1: CSCO, DAILY. The technical picture for CSCO had fully recovered from the August drop and was bullish before the big drop in November. |
Graphic provided by: Trade Navigator. |
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Longer-term charts showed a different picture. Relative strength had been falling all year, offering traders a warning that the stock was not likely to see further gains (Figure 2). In this chart, the 52-week rate of change is shown as a measure of relative strength. |
FIGURE 2: CSCO, WEEKLY. The rate of change of price was bearish, before the price declined. |
Graphic provided by: Trade Navigator. |
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There are two lesson traders can take from this example. First, looking at multiple time frames can help traders spot potential problems. In this case, the weekly chart showed weakness before the daily chart did. Second is that trends in relative strength can be used to confirm the direction of the price trend, and divergences offer a sign that the stock could be ready to reverse. |
Website: | www.moneynews.com/blogs/MichaelCarr/id-73 |
E-mail address: | marketstrategist@gmail.com |
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