The EU said it will help Greece and stocks rallied on Thursday, but the major indices' gains were too small to meet the guidelines for a sound "follow-through day" while the volume totals were reported higher than the prior session on the NYSE and the Nasdaq exchange. Advancers led decliners by a 3-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq exchange. There were 13 high-ranked companies from the CANSLIM.net Leaders List that made a new 52-week high and appeared on the CANSLIM.net BreakOuts Page, up from the 6 issues that appeared on the prior session. New 52-week highs outnumbered new 52-week lows on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq exchange.

Stocks rallied after the European Union said it would help Greece recover from the worst economic crisis the continent has experienced since the euro was established over 11 years ago. It is important to note that Portugal and Spain's growing budget deficits have yet to be addressed, which could come back and haunt the EU later this year.

Inflation concerns eased in China after consumer prices rose less than expected in January. This helped allay fears that the Chinese central bank will continue taking aggressive steps to curb its surging economy. Domestically, the Labor Department said that weekly jobless claims unexpectedly dropped last week. The weaker than expected report is a net positive for the ailing jobs market and bodes well for the economy.

Commodity-linked areas were among Thursday's strongest gainers as the Gold & Silver Index ($XAU +3.97%), Oil Services Index ($OSX +2.26%), and Integrated Oil Index ($XOI +1.81%) rose.  Financial shares were exceptionally quiet as the Bank Index ($BKX +0.07%) and Broker/Dealer Index ($XBD +0.07%) were virtually unchanged.  The Semiconductor Index ($SOX +2.36%) set a solid pace for the tech sector while the Internet Index ($IIX +1.52%) and Biotechnology Index ($BTK +0.94%)  produced modest gains and the Networking Index ($NWX -0.26%) lagged.  Gains from the Healthcare Index ($HMO +0.50%) and Retail Index ($RLX +1.10%) rounded out the mostly positive session.

Charts courtesy www.stockcharts.com

PICTURED: The Gold & Silver Index ($XAU +3.97%) rallied back above its 200-day moving average today.  It fell -27.2% from its early-December peak to its February low and currently is trading -19% off its high.

Baidu.com, Inc. (BIDU +$5.33 or +1.11% to $487.46) posted a gain today on average volume, rallying into new high ground. After reporting earnings and raising guidance it gapped up on 2/10/10 for a considerable gain and new all-time high, closing strong with volume more than 3 times average. Market conditions (M criteria of the investment system) argue against new buying efforts until a follow-through-day confirms the latest rally attempt, otherwise odds are not favorable for investors. No overhead supply exists to hinder its progress. Disciplined investors always follow all key criteria of the investment system to stack the odds of success in your favor. In a bullish market environment, many ideal buy candidates come along.  Right now, disciplined investors are waiting for a new confirmed rally before initiating any new buying efforts.  Meanwhile, the M criteria presents a problem, since 3 out of 4 stocks typically follow the direction of the major averages.

Within its last appearance in this FSU section on 2/03/10 under the headline "3rd Best Close Ever For Baidu.com" it was observed, "Gaps often indicate substantial institutional activity.  Today's considerable gap up and close near the session high was a sign of great institutional accumulation. However, this company's chart is loaded with numerous gaps in in either direction in recent months."  There was also a reminder included that the company was due to report earnings after the close on February 9th. Its 2/10/10 breakaway gap into new all-time high territory provided more compelling proof that institutional investors are accumulating the high-ranked Internet- Content firm's shares.  It is very reassuring that the number of top-rated funds owning BIDU's shares rose from 103 in Dec '08 to 204 in Dec '09, solid evidence its shares were being accumulated by the institutional (I criteria) crowd. 

It has a stellar sales and earnings history that satisfies the C & A criteria. However it has not formed any recent sound base and is extended from an earlier "double bottom" base pattern that was identified based upon its December low and January's lower low. Technically it triggered a technical buy signal and was featured in yellow on 1/13/10 as it cleared the 12/29/09 high mentioned in the 1/12/10 note.  (See the "view all notes" links to review prior analysis on any stock.)

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.