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January 18, 2012

Someone gave Nasdaq buyers some extra cash as various tech and biotech stocks were bid up. Adtran reported a bland quarter, fell then exploded higher. I suppose because analysts read between the lines on cost issues that affected profits. Overall the Nasdaq was up about 1.5%, better than the Dow and S&P.

The “bond replacements” had another dull day with Verizon down, JNJ, Altria, and Walmart relatively flat. Philip Morris International, a foreign market dividend payer got slapped with a downgrade and then got slapped with a 3.5% loss on the day. The MLP index was roughly flat too. No one needs income when stocks are popping 5-10% in one day!

Large cap tech was mixed – but many of those companies report today or soon including Microsoft, Google, Intel and Cisco so perhaps investors were waiting for those numbers.

Gold rose again but the large cap gold miners remain mixed after the higher cost announcements yesterday from Kinross and Newmont. The juniors got a bid (GDXJ up 2.58%) so all is not lost in gold land.

One area perking up is uranium – and lots of people are noticing. I suppose we had to wait for tax loss selling til it revived and it has. And believe me, memories of 1000+% run ups in uranium back in 2007 are still fresh in people’s memories so we may get a fast anxious rally before real fundamentals return (a bit of a head fake) followed by a fortitude-testing correction; but no doubt the fundamentals are there as Germany’s BS about no more nuclear can be ignored. The “megatons to megawatts” program will also end next year. Supply visibility is clearer and people see potential shortfalls – coupled with Chinese bids on African uranium deposits, there is a set up for a fierce rally. We’ll see.

Overall, breakouts from chart patterns are working – some stocks are stuttering after moving 4-7% and some are reversing. If you want to play here, you have to be comfortable with the whipsaw.

At the time of this writing, I or my clients own the following investments mentioned in this column: Gold, Altria

Note: this article is meant to be some helpful thoughts to share and not investment advice specific to you. Please consult your own advisor regarding investment and financial decisions. See our disclosures page