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Seven Stocks That Have Refused To Go Down

U.S. stock indexes gave back some of their strong gains Monday, but small caps stubbornly held their lead. Breakouts emerged, but volume faded for some as the session progressed.

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Meanwhile, seven quality stocks have refused to go down even for a day in the past six sessions.

Volume faded Monday for some of the early breakouts. For example, gene-sequencing giant Illumina (ILMN) initially showed fast turnover but then dwindled to only moderately higher volume.

The small-cap Russell 2000 and the Nasdaq spurted ahead 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively, while the Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.4%. The S&P 500 also edged up nearly 0.4%.

The S&P 500 and the Dow encountered resistance near their 50-day moving averages and closed underneath the line.

Volume in the stock market today fell on both major exchanges vs. the same time Friday.

Seven Stocks Streaking Higher

Despite several tough days last week, seven highly rated stocks rose in each of the past six to eight sessions, including Monday.

The stocks included Apple (AAPL), which hit a new high; Mastercard (MA), which also pegged a new high; Las Vegas Sands (LVS), which is 3% off its high; risk and analytical services provider TransUnion (TRU), just under a new high; software company Atlassian (TEAM), less than 1% off a high; and cloud-security play Mimecast (MIME), which scored a new high.

China-based Alibaba (BABA) did even better. The online marketplace rose for an eighth straight session, including Monday's more than 3% gain.

Fading Volume

In the Nasdaq 100, Illumina scored a 4.5% gain, and volume jumped a satisfying 40% above normal levels. The stock cleared a 256.74 buy point in a shallow consolidation. StreetInsider.com reported that Barclays upgraded Illumina from equal weight to overweight. Barclays set a price target of 300.

In the 30-component Dow Jones industrial average, Exxon Mobil (XOM) scored a 1% gain after being up almost 3% earlier. Volume shrank to below average. Exxon is still about 12% off its 52-week high of 89.30.

Oil prices initially gave a boost to the oil stocks. West Texas intermediate crude oil touched $70.84 but then reversed to 69.82, up 10 cents.

The price of oil has been rising on the possibility that President Trump will kill the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. Axing the deal would probably reduce Iran oil exports and put upward price pressure on oil. Trump said Monday that he would announce his decision 2 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Other Breakouts

Oil stocks breaking out included PDC Energy (PDCE), CVR Energy (CVI) and CVR Refining (CVRR). All attracted strong volume.

In the chip space, Nvidia (NVDA) jumped past a 239.35 entry early Monday. The stock gained 4% but trade slowed to 19% above average. Nvidia will report earnings Thursday after the close. The stock's base is late stage.

In the computer sector, data storage stock Pure Storage (PSTG) rumbled 7% higher. Volume was 145% above average. The midcap stock cleared a 21.43 buy point in a cup-with-handle pattern. Pure Storage is a 2015 initial public offering. The stock was added to Leaderboard earlier today.

Two other computer sector stocks posted decent gains, but the moves did not involve breakouts. Cisco Systems (CSCO) padded recent gains with a 0.9% advance Monday in soft trade. Cisco rose in each of the past four weeks. Arista Networks (ANET) rebounded 3% in volume 22% above average. The stock is in between its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Meanwhile on the deal-making front, Starbucks (SBUX) and Switzerland-based Nestle (NSRGY) announced a marketing pact. Nestle will pay $7.15 billion to Starbucks plus ongoing royalties for the rights to market Starbucks.

According to Bloomberg News, Starbucks will use the $7.15 billion to buy back shares. Starbucks jumped 2.3% in heavy volume after the market's open but then reversed to a 0.4% loss. Nestle popped 1.2%.

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