The major averages ended unanimously lower on Friday's session, but they were up for the week after hitting fresh multi-month highs.  As expected, volume totals were reported higher on the Nasdaq exchange and on the NYSE compared to the prior session due to Friday's quadruple witching options expirations. Decliners led advancers by more than a 2-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 3-to-2 ratio on the Nasdaq exchange. There were 37 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 46 issues that appeared on the prior session. New 52-week highs again overwhelmingly trumped new lows on both exchanges.

On Monday, stocks ended mixed as rumor spread that the Chinese or Indian Central Bank would raise rates. On Tuesday, the Fed decided to hold rates steady near record lows and reiterated their stance to keep rates low as the economy continues to recover. Elsewhere, February housing starts were reported slightly better than expected, even though starts declined -5.9% from January.  Prices of goods imported into the U.S. in February fell more than forecast, signaling there is mild inflationary pressure coming from abroad.  Health care stocks overcame modest pressure after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there will be enough votes in the House to pass health care reform.  Meanwhile, European markets advanced as European leaders worked out a plan for emergency aid to Greece if needed.  

On Wednesday, stocks rose, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the benchmark S&P 500 Index to fresh 18 month highs and boosting the Nasdaq Composite Index to a fresh 19 month high after the latest round of healthy economic data was released. Producer prices slid by a larger than expected -0.6% which eased inflation woes and eased pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise rates in the foreseeable future. Overseas, the Bank of Japan doubled its lending program aimed at increasing its credit growth to $222 billion. In Europe, investor confidence rose after the latest round of stronger than expected earnings were released.

Stocks ended mixed on Thursday after the latest round of mixed economic data was released: consumer prices were mild, leading economic indicators rose +0.1% last month while jobless claims slid. On Friday, Monday's fears were confirmed when the Indian Central Bank raised rates to curtail their robust economy and inflation. The fact that we have not seen any serious distribution days since the FTD bodes well for this nascent rally. It is also a welcome sign to see the market continue to improve as investors digest the latest round of stronger than expected economic and earnings data. Remember that now that a new rally has been confirmed, the window is open to start buying high quality breakouts. Trade accordingly.

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PICTURED: The Nasdaq Composite Index's loss Friday on higher volume followed recent gains for new recovery highs on near average volume.  Friday's volume totals were inflated due to options expirations.

Commodity-linked areas traded with a negative bias on Friday as the Oil Services Index ($OSX -2.74%), Integrated Oil Index ($XOI -0.78%), and Gold & Silver Index ($XAU -1.55%) lost ground.  The tech sector was mostly weaker as the Semiconductor Index ($SOX -1.65%), Networking Index ($NWX -1.37%), and Internet Index ($IIX -1.09%) sufffered losses.  Financial shares also had a negativ influence on the majkor averages as the Broker/Dealer Index ($XBD -1.20%) and Bank Index ($BKX -0.97%)    fell.  The Retail Index ($RLX -0.27%) did a better job of holding its ground, meanwhile the Biotechnology Index ($BTK -0.00%) ended flat.

Charts courtesy www.stockcharts.com

PICTURED: The Healthcare Index ($HMO +2.19%) was the standout gainer for a second consecutive session while approaching its highs with a 5th consecutive gain.

Vistaprint Nv. (VPRT $60.00) traded with mostly light volume this week while consolidating in a tight trading range and closing only -4.4% from its 3/09/10 all-time high. It did not trigger a technical buy signal, and its Relative Strength rank has slumped to 77 from 82 since it was featured in the March 2010 CANSLIM.net News monthly newsletter (read here). The market produced a follow-through-day from at least one of the major averages to satisfy the M criteria, giving disciplined investors a green light to accumulate shares of companies that have met the guidelines. However, as previously noted, "Its gain on 3/02/10 was below the volume guidelines for buyable breakouts under the investment system. The stock needs to produce gains above its $59.70 pivot point (previously cited) with +50% above average volume or greater to trigger a solid technical buy signal. 

The Netherlands headquartered high-ranked Commercial Services - Printing firm is known for its aggressive online advertising for a small order of free business cards. The C and A criteria are satisfied as the company has demonstrated solid quarterly sales revenues and earnings increases (above the +25% minimum guideline) and it has a good annual earnings history.  Volume totals have been generally cooling off in recent weeks.  The quiet action suggests that very few shareholders are exiting while it hovers near all-time highs, which is reassuring.

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.