Major averages finished flat to down on Friday on mixed volume. While the NASDAQ and S&P 500 remain above their 50-day moving averages, the broader New York Composite Index closed back below its 200-day moving average while the small-cap Russell 2000 is trying to find support along its 200-day line and remains well below its 50-day moving average. Breadth remains an issue as both the NYSE and NASDAQ Advance-Decline lines have continued to make lower lows, and last week showed very weak bounces with as the indexes rallied off of their Monday lows. That rally had a very logical context in that the S&P 500 had reached its 200-day moving average after several days of selling off from the recent highs.

Despite the choppy sideways to downward action of major markets, we have had a number of pocket pivot and buyable gap up stocks hit our filters over the past few days. As always, keep an eye on your overall exposure to the markets since the correction that began two weeks ago may not yet have run its course. That said, some of the strongest names can buck market weakness. The clues can be seen in how the stock has traded over the past few weeks relative to the general markets.

As with all earnings seasons, make sure that if any stock you may still own is reporting earnings, your position size reflects the possibility of the stock gapping lower as can happen.