The major averages rallied on Thursday after a slew of US retailers reported stronger than expected same store sales. Volume totals on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq exchange were reported lower compared to Wednesday's totals, revealing a lack of buying conviction from the institutional crowd after recent distributional pressure. Breadth was only slightly positive as advancers led decliners by very narrow margins on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq exchange. New 52-week highs trumped new lows on both exchanges yet again. There were 36 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 from the 52 issues that appeared on the prior session.  A healthy crop of new leaders making new highs bodes well for any market rally, so the recent expansion in leadership has been a welcome post-holiday improvement. However, the rising number of distribution days has raised some concerns.

Stocks were under pressure as concern spread that Greece’s debt crisis may intensify and spread to other European nations which may hinder the global economic recovery. However, the fears subsided after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said he does not expect Greece to default. In the US, same store sales from many of the nation's largest retailers topped estimates which bodes well for the economy. A slew of retailers hit fresh 52-week highs which bodes well for the entire retail sector. Elsewhere, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose +18,000 to +460,000 last week.

Charts courtesy www.stockcharts.com

PICTURED: The Retail Index ($RLX +1.33%) tallied another solid gain, and it has rallied +20% from its February low.

Rovi Corp (ROVI -$0.22 or -0.60% to $36.38) has been consolidating in a tight range with volume cooling for the past 4 weeks, hovering within close striking distance of its all-time high. Now it has drifted under its "max buy" level, so disciplined investors might consider it an ideal time to accumulate shares. Its color code was changed to yellow.  Prior chart highs and its 50-day moving average (DMA) line coincide in the $34 area, defining an important support level to watch on pullbacks. Since its last appearance with an annotated graph in this FSU section on 3/17/10 under the headline Software - Security Firm Extended After Volume Driven Gains the high-ranked Computer Software - Security firm has been consolidating in a tight trading range.

ROVI triggered a technical buy signal with a high volume gain on 3/02/10. That was followed by a streak of 8 consecutive gains that included 3 consecutive gains into new high ground on heavy volume. It was featured in yellow with pivot point based upon its 10/09/09 high noted during its 2/25/10 mid-day report appearance (read here).  Its subsequent breakout and ability to rally to a new 52-week high with at least +50% above average volume behind the gain may have signaled the beginning of a substantial advance. Earnings per share increases in 3 of the past 4 quarterly comparisons versus the year ago period showed better than +25% growth.

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.