A stock scan performed after the close on Thursday for “the cross” found one stock that might be instructive. There were no ‘golden crosses’ with today’s market action:

1. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Wal-Mart Stores is in the retail (department & discount) industry. Oh boy, you know there is something really wrong when WMT — the most “recession proof/safe” investment beloved by all the experts — is doing the “death cross”. Give us some hope WMT!!

Daily Chart with InVivo Swing Trading Tools

The company tried hard the other day, announcing a new CEO along with a statement that it is ‘optimistic’ about the holiday shopping season. *Cough* Which phase of The Investor Sentiment Cycle might this be?

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT)

Daily Chart with 50- and 200-day Moving Average

A Word About Stock Picking
What you should do with these ideas are up to you. We believe individual investors should make speculative trades in individual stocks only with mad money after fully funding retirement accounts according to a balanced portfolio strategy. Use a well-defined process to evaluate buy and sell signals. You may wish to investigate these ideas further with the following questions in mind:

• Which phase of the Investor Sentiment Cycle is this stock in?
• Is there a valid reason for entering this trade? Is there a technical trade setup on this chart?
• Is it smart to follow the dumb money? Read the landmark research paper by Mullainathan & Thaler.
• Is this a classic behavioral finance trap?
• Do I have a position sizing strategy? Are all of my eggs in one basket?
• What’s a good spot to place a stop loss?

The information found in this article is designed to be educational. For additional information, please read Putting It Together.