Rocket Stocks for the Week
Updated from 7 a.m. EDT
The ancient Chinese proverb and curse "May you live in interesting times" came into full effect last week, when the market crashed on Monday by 777 points in a single day.
If you look back at the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
since 1895, you will find only seven days when the Dow dropped 7% or more and made a new low. Five of those times were before 1940, when the
Federal Reserve
did not have much market-moving authority.
Additionally, the CBOE option volatility index, better known as the VIX, spiked to 48; the OEX volatility index, also known as the VXO, hit 51. These high implied volatility signs are classic signs of panic/capitulation.
I know it's painful to buy stocks at a time like this, even for a quick trade. But over the past 50 to 60 years, if you'd bought stocks when the VIX or VXO spiked into the high 40s or low 50s, you'd have been profitable one month, three months, six months and 12 months out.
And take your pick. Last week, you could have loaded up on techs such as
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
,
Oracle
(ORCL) - Get Report
,
Juniper Networks
(JNPR) - Get Report
or financials such as
Wells Fargo
(WFC) - Get Report
,
Bank of America
(BAC) - Get Report
or
Goldman Sachs
(GS) - Get Report
.
There are tons of interesting opportunities this week, too, in my
, including
Robbins & Myers
(RBN)
and
Yum! Brands
(YUM) - Get Report
.
To check them out,
.
At the time of publication, Altucher and/or his fund was long Juniper Networks and Bank of America, although positions may change at any time.
James Altucher is president of
LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of TheStreet.com and part of its network of Web properties, and a managing partner at Formula Capital, an alternative asset management firm that runs a fund of hedge funds. He is also a weekly columnist for the
Financial Times
and the author of
Trade Like a Hedge Fund
,
Trade Like Warren Buffett
and
SuperCa$h
. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Altucher appreciates your feedback;
to send him an email.
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