Greetings traders! Another day, another candle… and this time an ugly one for sure. As the year winds down, market news continues to churn, and the patterns persist in their ceaseless swing. But this is Andy from Trade Ideas, here to provide you with a much-needed market update on this bustling Thursday, the 21st of December.

A QUICK MARKET REFLECTION

Yesterday turned out to be a bit ugly for the market. An unexpected surge of news wreaked havoc on our charts, but as per my policy, I attempt to steer clear of news-driven trading and choose to instead concentrate on the price action. Today, however, the market recouping approximately half of those losses, gapping up and providing a bit of respite.

What a dramatic upheaval often does, though, is to throw off many of our setups. Searching for setup this morning was no small task, but let’s plunge into the nitty-gritty and seek out those outliers that held firm amid yesterday’s whirlwind.

1. HLIT: THE STRONG SURVIVOR

First on the watchlist is HLIT. Yesterday saw HLIT demonstrating considerable strength. The volume? Decent enough. The gains? Preserved throughout the day.

Today seems to be offering a gap up, which might complicate your entry strategy. However, HLIT deserves attention. Particularly watchful eyes should be kept on it should it pull back to something like twelve.

2. CAVA: LEFT UNPHASED

Next up is CAVA. Yesterday tested the mettle, and to say that CAVA held its own would be an understatement – it ended flat for the day, despite the market’s downturn. Today, it too, is gapping up. But the real point of interest here is those wicks.

One look at the chart and you can spot the two wicks up there around the 43 level. An intriguing prospect, I invite you to set a price alert for this level and thereby put CAVA on your watchlist.

“As the market moves, we must move with it. Assess, strategize and adapt are the keywords we must always remember.”

3. MU: THE EARNINGS WONDER

MU Micron is an intriguing case, being an earnings play. The standout feature this time is its gap up to what I believe are record highs. Here, we observe a significant gap being cleared.

This pattern could very well signal a potential ‘gap and go’ situation, where it opens up and simply takes off. But tread carefully – the market has been known to slam such situations just as easily. So, keep MU on your radar.

4. MLKN: THE UNDERDOG

Lastly, we turn our attention to MLKN, another one on my list that held up yesterday, although it does look quite thin. A glance at the chart shows that a move above the 30 level could spark interest. A price alert at this level is recommended.

Keep everything secured, traders. Today could pack volatility and we must stay on top of things.

With these trading insights, I’m hopeful that your day ahead looks a bit clearer. We’ll reconvene tomorrow for more market decoding. Until then, happy trading!