The major averages ended with gains for their 4th week in a row, continuing the current 14-week rally effort that has now boosted the benchmark S&P 500 Index to a seven-month high. However, volume totals have been lackluster of late, whereas it is a better sign to see above average volume backing up the market's gains.  On Friday, advancers were slightly outnumbered by decliners on the Nasdaq exchange and on the NYSE. The session's volume totals were reported lighter than the prior session on the NYSE and Nasdaq exchange, which was a sign that institutional investors were not accumulating shares. There were also only 3 high-ranked companies from the CANSLIM.net Leaders List that made a new 52-week high and appeared on the CANSLIM.net BreakOuts Page, lower than the 10 issues that appeared on the prior session.  A further expansion in the new highs list would offer encouraging news for growth oriented investors. 

On Monday, stocks closed mixed after McDonalds (MCD +1.20%) said same store sales rose +5.1% last month which topped the Street's view of +4.2%. Later in the day, Apple Inc. (AAPL -2.13%) announced a handful of upgrades to its existing product line. The company said they are going to release a new version of their very popular iPhone. The new version, 3GS, will be less expensive and faster. The added "S," stands for speed. In addition, the company updated its MacBook Pro line with a built in battery that will last +40% longer than current batteries. The stock spent the rest of the week trading lower on above average volume.

Charts courtesy www.stockcharts.com
 

PICTURED: The Networking Index ($NWX -0.15%)is hovering near 2009 highs. 

Illumina Inc (ILMN -$1.45 or -2.46% to $38.08) encountered distributional pressure today. Unimpressive volume totals behind recent gains are clear evidence that institutional investors were unmoved, even after news this week that the company began offering a new high-quality personal genome sequencing for consumers (read here).  And as recently noted, this stock's Relative Strength (RS) rank has slumped well below the 80+ guideline (currently 67).  Its RS rank was 88 when it was first featured featured in the May 2009 issue of CANSLIM.net News (read here).  That rank fell off as it continued consolidating and failed to produce confirming gains above its pivot point to trigger a proper technical buy signal since featured.  Historic examples of the market's biggest winners typically showed better relative strength, and their relative strength lines (the jagged blue line) usually spiked to new highs ahead of, or while the stock was making new highs.

Its prior chart high on March 23rd plus ten cents is the basis for its $39.05 pivot point and $41.00 maximum buy price cited in earlier reports. This Medical Systems/Equipment firm has shown solid quarterly sales revenues and earnings increases that satisfy the C criteria, and its annual earnings (the A criteria) growth history has improved in recent years. Another concern, along with its waning relative strength rating, is that Street estimates for its FY '09 are calling for earnings -2% versus the prior year.  Technically, deterioration under its 50-day moving average line and recent chart low ($34.44) would raise more serious concerns and could trigger sell signals.

Color Codes Explained :
Y - Better candidates highlighted by our staff of experts.
G - Previously featured in past reports as yellow but may no longer be buyable under the guidelines.