Every few days a meltdown - Alert HQ signals for Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Yes, lately it seems like every few days there's another meltdown in the stock market. Volatility is up, stocks are down and bears are on a roll.

It's no surprise that today's Alert HQ signals are so dismal. The following summarizes Tuesday's Swing Signals, Trend Leaders, Trend Busters and Gap Signals.

Today we have the following:

• 21 Swing Signals -- 4 BUY signals and 17 SELL signals.
  
• 205 Trend Leaders, all in strong up-trends according to Aroon, MACD and DMI. We have 45 stocks that are new additions to the list and 88 that fell off the previous list.
  
• 37 Trend Busters of which 4 are BUY signals and 33 are SELL signals.
• 196 Gap Signals -- stocks with upside or downside gaps or gaps that have been closed. 116 are bearish gaps and 80 are bullish gaps.
  

The view from Alert HQ --

It's not often that you'll find a more bearish set of signals at Alert HQ. As listed above, there are so few BUY signals one would almost think that we are at a bottom.

Unfortunately, stocks have barely fallen 3.6%. That hardly qualifies as a pull-back let alone a correction. Major averages have fallen below their trend lines and are now getting close to their lower Bollinger Bands and their 50-day moving averages. I'd be surprised if we didn't at least test these two major technical criteria.

So be prepared for further drops in your favorite stocks but keep an eye on Alert HQ for signs the worst is over.

Using our signals --

If you're a momentum trader, the Trend Leaders list is a good place to go shopping. If you practice technical analysis, check out the Trend Busters. And if you are a short-term trader or even a day trader, our Swing Signals or Gap Signals may provide some good trading ideas.

Found a few stock picks you are interested in? If you are looking to refine your entry and exit points, you should take a look at what our friends at Hottinger's E-Zone Signals have to offer.