Can you still be a bull when this market's technicals are so awful?

The family wants me to watch the Super Bowl with them and stop this darn blogging. And you know, I think that's a pretty good idea so I'm just going provide a really abbreviated post that looks at our Alert HQ overall market statistics.

The following charts are derived from data collected during our Alert HQ process and they provide a high-level look at a couple of the indicators we track across the whole market.

The view from Alert HQ --

Let's start with our moving average analysis.

For this first chart we count the number of stocks above various moving averages and count the number of moving average crossovers, as well. We scan roughly 7000 stocks and ETFs each weekend and plot the results against a chart of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY).

This chart shows the broad-based deterioration in the market. Almost 70% of stocks are now below their 50-DMA. The number of cross-overs to the downside has accelerated. I don't show it on the charts but roughly 75% of stocks have fallen below their 20-DMA, as well. We are midway between the extreme levels as we saw in March 2009 and the levels we saw during the two pullbacks in 2009.

The next chart provides our trending analysis. It looks at the number of stocks in strong up-trends or down-trends based on Aroon analysis.

This chart tells a similar story. Current levels are midway between those seen at the market lows in March and during the pullbacks in September and November.

Conclusion - why I'm still a bull

OK, I have to ask: should the market be sinking to levels last seen when the fate of capitalism was in doubt and the financial system was teetering on the brink? I don't think so.

So the interpretation of these charts is that the market is greatly oversold. Unfortunately, markets can continue in an oversold mode until some catalyst changes investor sentiment. Luckily, we continue to see modest progress in U.S. economic reports. Improving fundamentals will eventually carry the day. As I said a week ago: do not short this market unless you're a trader.

Dividends save the day -- 10 stocks with strong up-trends and dividend growth

Everyone is aware that the market has been going through some tough times for the last few weeks. Major averages are off their peaks roughly 7% and a full-fledged 10% correction or worse is not out of the question.

It turns out, however, that not every stock is taking a dive. I ran a screen that that looks at the Trend Leaders list at Alert HQ and looks for which stocks have increased their dividends. These dividend growers seem to be practically impervious to the downturn. And they stand out because so many others on the Trend Leaders list these days are inverse ETFs.

Here is the list of 10 dividend growers that are exhibiting strong up-trends on their stock charts. Note that in order to be on the Trend Leaders list a stock has to show strong results in all three indicators: Aroon, DMI and MACD.

Symbol	Name	Dividend TTM	New Dividend	% Increase
MTR	MESA ROYALTY TRUST	2.169	3.43	58.14%
NRGP	Inergy Holdings, L.P.	3.32	3.76	13.25%
NOC	NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP.	1.69	1.72	1.78%
MCD	MCDONALDS CORPORATION	2.05	2.2	7.32%
DV	DEVRY, INC.	0.18	0.20	11.11%
ARG	AIRGAS, INC.	0.70	0.88	25.71%
LANC	Lancaster Colony Corporation	1.16	1.20	3.45%
LSBX	LSB Corporation	0.22	0.28	27.27%
PRGO	Perrigo Company	0.23	0.25	8.70%
TESS	TESSCO Technologies Incorporated	0.20	0.40	100.00%

Here's a few comments on some of the stocks on this list:

•  MESA ROYALTY TRUST (MTR) is benefiting from solid performance of its oil and gas properties
• Inergy Holdings, L.P. (NRGP) has been absolutely relentless in its march upward. It is also involved in energy and operates in the entire supply chain for natural gas, from processing to sales to retail customers.
• DeVry (DV) has actually broken out to the upside as it pretty much ignores the downturn. It may be in line to benefit from the administration's proposed higher education plans.
• Airgas (ARG) just received a $1.5 billion takeover offer from Air Products & Chemicals (APD) so I'm not the only one seeing value here
• Lancaster Colony Corporation (LANC) just reported higher earnings and has also broken out to the upside
• LSB Corporation (LSBX) is a regional bank - not much news just conservative management and the ability to raise the dividend rather than look for government handouts
• Perrigo Company (PRGO) is another stock with a relentless up-trend. This healthcare stock is benefiting from good earnings and analyst upgrades.
• TESSCO Technologies Incorporated (TESS) has been on a tear since early December. The company just reported good quarterly earnings and is the only tech stock on this list.

Dividends can provide investors comfort when a stock is pulling back. These ten stocks have avoided the recent market pullback and are boosting dividends, to boot. Not a bad combination.