Stocks ended higher on Thursday as investors digested Wednesday's large move and the latest round of earnings and economic data. The volume total on the NYSE was reported slightly higher, yet the Nasdaq exchange volume was lower compared to Wednesday's totals. Advancers led decliners by a 5-to-4 ratio on the Nasdaq exchange while on the NYSE decliners slightly outnumbered advancers. New 52-week highs easily trumped new lows on both exchanges. There were 89 high-ranked companies from the CANSLIM.net Leaders List that made a new 52-week high and appeared on the CANSLIM.net BreakOuts Page, higher than the 86 issues that appeared on the prior session. A healthy crop of new leaders making new highs bodes well for any market rally. Regular readers know we have repeatedly noted in this commentary -"the recent expansion in leadership has been a welcome improvement."

Before Thursday's open, the Labor Department said weekly jobless claims unexpectedly climbed to 484,000, which is a two month high. The four-week moving average of initial claims, which smooths out the weekly data, rose to 457,750 last week, from 450,250. Elsewhere, the Federal Reserve said factory production rose +0.9% after rising +0.2% in February which topped analyst estimates.

At this point, earnings have been positive, evidenced by the slew of stronger than expected results from several high profile companies. After Thursday's close, tech giant, Google Inc. (GOOG +1.07%) released another robust quarterly report but traded slightly lower in the after market as investors digest the numbers. Google's Q1 earnings rose +31% vs the same period in 2009 while sales jumped +23%. Medical giant, Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG +1.06%) easily topped estimates when they reported another outstanding quarter. The company said earnings surged +194% versus Q1 2009 while sales jumped a very impressive +74%.

Professional Money Management Services- Free Portfolio Review:
Our skilled team of portfolio managers knows how to follow the rules of this fact-based investment system. If your portfolio is greater than $100,000 and you would like a free portfolio review, Click Here to get connected with one of our portfolio managers. ** Serious inquires only, please.

The Bank Index ($BKX -0.91%) ended with a small loss on Thursday while the Broker/Dealer Index ($XBD +0.03%) held its ground. The tech sector was mixed as the Biotechnology Index ($BTK -0.52%) and Networking Index ($NWX -0.29%) closed modestly lower, the Internet Index ($IIX +0.27%) and Semiconductor Index ($SOX +0.28%) posted modest gains.  There were small gains for the Retail Index ($RLX +0.41%) and Healthcare Index ($HMO +0.41%) and energy shares' slightly positive bias helped the Integrated Oil Index ($XOI +0.15%) and Oil Services Index ($OSX +0.32%) edged higher.  Meanwhile, the Gold & Silver Index ($XAU -1.04%) was a laggard.

Charts courtesy www.stockcharts.com

PICTURED: The Broker/Dealer Index ($XBD +0.03%) has been approaching its recovery high, with a small gain extending its winning streak to 10 straight gains.

Vistaprint Nv. (VPRT +$0.55 or +0.94% to $59.18) posted a gain today, and it recently has been finding impressive support near its 50-day moving average (DMA) line. A subsequent violation of the short-term average or recent chart low ($55.45) would raise concerns and trigger technical sell signals. It is still too early to consider its $62.64 high a valid new pivot point for a "double bottom" type base, as it has only been consolidating for 6 weeks since peaking at $62.77.  The minimum length for a proper double bottom base is 8 weeks.  If it undercuts the recent chart low ($55.45) and then rebounds, today's high may end up being the pivot point of a double bottom base of sufficient length. In a proper double bottom base, the second low undercuts an earlier low, and the pivot point its the middle high of the "W" pattern formed. 

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. Technically, however, its Relative Strength rank (see red circle) has slumped to 70 from 82 since it was featured in the March 2010 CANSLIM.net News monthly newsletter (read here). As previously noted, "Its gain on 3/02/10 was below the volume guidelines for buyable breakouts under the investment system. The stock needed to produce gains above its $59.70 pivot point with +50% above average volume or greater to trigger a solid technical buy signal. 

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.