All eyes on Greece where tragedy was born and stays
The 6 W’s: Who, what, where, when, why and what of it
Mid-Day: The NASDAQ is UP +21.95 (+0.77%) to 2,858.28 while the Dow is also UP +69.81 (+0.55%) to 12,721.72.
Market Commentary: Stocks opened higher Friday … and are holding their gains … lifted by reports that major central banks are preparing “coordinated action” to provide liquidity after the Greek elections over the weekend, but gains were limited following weaker-than-expected economic reports. However, quadruple witching—contracts for stock index futures, stock index options, stock options and single stock futures … are all expiring … bringing additional volatility to trading.
For the record … Witching hours occur when financial contracts … specifically options and futures … END on the … 3rd Friday of a month. The time periods … double, triple and quadruple … reflect the number of contracts that expire. Traditionally, all contracts expire in the same hour … thus the name witching hour … usually the last hour of trading. However, some contracts for all 3 time periods can expire at the beginning of a trading day as well.
The Greek election is just … another “kicking the can down the road” for a while!
Mid-Day Commentary: Traders <it is not an investors market> are seeking havens from risk and market transitions as ANY upward momentum is offset by profit takers which tend to cause violent swings. Lately this has been the case; in addition, it’s still pretty tough to be long this sector … but, I still … think <for the hard of spirit> it could make for a great opportunity during these extremes … where and when we have a lot of risk in and on the RegMed sector … I need real catalysts and milestone definitions … to “aware” … MY INSIGHT!! I live, eat and breathe this sector … so, when I am confused … something is wrong!
Today’s Gospel: RegMed stocks are moving … sideways … in lackluster trading … Friday 6/15/12 …We all have … lingering headaches … about the fallout from Europe and the potential domestic <US> impact from an international crisis < albeit, since the Asian flu in 1998>. The credit and banking disease is spreading … should we initiate a clinical trial but, with what compound …?? My drug of choice … is a combination of melting ice cubes and … medicinal “russian running water” … not quite a drug but, again medicinal!! Add in some cranberry juice and it is a diuretic … it pays to be a multi-tasker. TGIF !!
The DOW, S&P 500 and the NASDAQ are up with the CBOE Volatility Index <fear gauge> traded near 22 from yesterday’s 24. RegMed stocks in … mid-day trading had … 1 leaders … OSIR again, up … post the … New Zealand approval for Prochymal. DO I see $11.00 … a great chance with this volume, momentum and appreciation. The sector has even green (ups) … with reds (downs) but, still 2-3 fluctuating black (flats) off and on.
My favorites:
- Aastrom (ASTM) is Up, DOWN and FLAT to $2.23 after a … mixed few days with an increasing and tightening … mid-day range of $2.16 – $2.25 from yesterday’s $2.12 – $2.29 with … smaller … volume of 47K shares;
- Cytori (CYTX) is UP +$0.04 or 1.78% at $2.29 in a smaller and tightening trading range of $2.21 – $2.27 from yesterday’s $2.30 -$2.44 with … increasing but, moderate trading of 137K;
- Osiris (OSIR) is UP … +$0.84 <was $1.01> or +10.41% to $8.83 with an broadening day’s range of $8.22 – $9.23 from yesterday’s $6.26 -$6.47 with huge volume of 821K;
- Updating … NeoStem (Amex: NBS) is DOWN -$0.03 or -5.98% to $0.047 … Still creeping with market forces and recent volatility but, watching …
Minimal upward moves:
- BioLife Solutions (OTC BB: BLFS),
- BioMimetic (BMTI),
- Brainstorm (OTC BB: BCLI),
- International Stem Cell (OTC BB: ISCO),
- Opexa (OPXA), and
- Tengion (TNGN).
Minimal downward moves:
- Advanced Cell Technology (OTC BB: ACTC),
- Athersys (ATHX),
- BioTime (Amex: BTX),
- Cytomedix (OTC BB: CMXI),
- Dendreon (DNDN),
- Fibrocell (OTC BB: FCSC),
- Geron (GERN),
- ImmunoCellular (Amex: IMUC),
- Neuralstem (Amex: CUR),
- ReNeuron (RENE.L),
- StemCells (STEM), and
- Verastem (VSTM).
Flat:
- Pluristem (PSTI),
- Thermogenesis (KOOL)
EconoDrama: Manufacturing in New York State fell sharply to 2.3 in June to its lowest level since November, according to the New York Fed’s “Empire State” general business conditions index. Economists had expected a reading of 13. And, factory production slipped 0.4% in May for the 2nd time in 3 months, while total industrial output fell 0.1%, according to the Fed. Analysts had expected total production to gain 0.1%. Consumer sentiment fell in early June to a six-month low on worries about deterioration in the jobs market and Europe’s festering debt crisis, a survey released on Friday showed. Americans downgraded their economic outlook after their confidence improved in May to its highest level since October 2007. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s preliminary reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment fell to 74.1 in June from to 79.3 in May, falling short of the 77.5 reading predicted by economists.
What’s new in the regenerative medicine/stem cell market … see: www.scimitarequity.com/blog …
Our focus: E-News, Actionable Intelligence, Data Analytics and Research – So catch the wave as we are about to launch the new … RegMed …NEWS PORTAL!! The countdown begins …
