Eoin Treacy's view The last week has seen a significant jump in demand for the US Dollar. Investors appear to have begun to reassess the Dollar's safe haven status in the face of the Eurozone's debt crisis and the continued slow pace of progress in resolving it. US stock market indices, although down on the year, are some of the better relative performers globally. As pointed out on a number of occasions over the last couple of months, shares leveraged to the growth of the global consumer have been among the best performers and many have held up considerably better than the wider market.

I do not believe it is an exaggeration to describe the Nasdaq-100 as representative of the cutting edge of innovation in the US economy. The Index ranged between 2200 and 2400 from January till early August when it broke downwards. It found support in the region of the upper side of the January to September 2010 range, near 2000, and has pushed back up to test the 2200 level and the 200-day MA. A sustained move above 2300 would trigger an MDL stop, confirm a failed downside break and indicate a return to medium-term demand dominance. Price action this week has so far been encouraging and a number of leading constituents continue to find support in the region of their MAs. A catalyst is probably needed to dispel investor anxiety and fuel a sustained move to new highs.

Cloud computing remains an attractive growth sector. An increasing number of companies feel compelled to announce strategies for their vision of the cloud's evolution but there are already clear leaders. Among these Apple, Amazon, Check Point Software in the Nasdaq as well as IBM are at the forefront. All continue to hold above their respective 200-day MAs and the first three are rallying towards their respective highs. (Also see Comment of the Day on August 26th).

There are a number of companies related to this sector such as Citrix Systems, BMC Software, EMC Corp, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Oracle, Salesforce.com, Teradata Corp that have all pulled back below their respective 200-day MAs in a clear loss of medium-term uptrend consistency. However, they have all found at least short-term support and are unwinding overextensions relative to their trend means. Sustained moves above their respective MAs will be required to indicate returns to medium-term demand dominance.

Elsewhere, Intel and Google retested the lower side of their respective ranges and demand appears to be reasserting itself. Cisco Systems, a technology sector laggard, has at least paused in the region of the 2009 low near $15. It is testing the upper side of the more than two-month range and a clear downward dynamic would be required to check current scope for some additional upside.

The Healthcare sector represents themes such as the demand for life enhancing treatments by the aging baby boomer demographic as well as the newly affluent Asian middle class who can now afford first rate medical treatment. It is also emblematic of futuristic technology and innovation in the development of new products. (Also see Comment of the Day on January 26th).

Vertex Pharmaceutical found support in the region of the upper side of the five-year range and has rallied impressively. A sustained move below $40 would be required to question medium-term scope for additional upside. Intuitive Surgical has a relatively similar pattern. Cerner Corp rebounded impressively from the region of the MA and is now retesting the late July peak. A sustained move below $55 would now be required to question medium-term uptrend consistency. Biogen has unwound the overextension relative to the 200-day MA. A sustained move below it would be required to question current scope for some additional higher to lateral ranging.

Pharmaceutical Product Development has been largely rangebound for most of the year. It retested the upper side last week and needs to sustain a move above $33 to confirm a return to medium-term demand dominance. Celgene and Amgen have relatively similar patterns. Stericycle is ranging in the region of the 200-day MA but needs to sustain a move above it to indicate a return to medium-term demand dominance. Patterson Cos, Life Technologies, Gilead Sciences, Henry Schein, Teva Pharmaceutical, Hologic, Mylan and Express Scripts have all pulled back below their respective 200- day MAs and while there is scope for an unwind of overextensions relative to them, sustained moves back above their respective trend means will be required to indicate returns to medium-term demand dominance.

In the consumer and wholesale sector, O'Reilly Automotive, Ross Stores, Costco, Bed Bath & Beyond, Fastenal and Dollar Tree Stores all remain in consistent medium-term uptrends. They found support in the region of their 200-day MAs and a number are hitting new highs.

In the food and beverage sectors, Whole Food Stores and Starbucks remain in consistent uptrends and recently found support in the region of their 200-day MAs. Hansen Natural Corp and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters continue to rally impressively but are becoming increasingly overextended relative to their respective 200-day MAs and breaks in the progression of higher reaction lows would likely signal mean reversion is underway.

The vast majority of stock market indices globally have pulled back sharply over the last couple of months. Increased volatility is stoking uncertainty, anxiety and fear. While there is still scope for an unfavourable resolution to the Eurozone's sovereign debt crisis, it is questionable how much medium to long-term influence it is likely to have on some of the better performing shares profiled above. The relative strength of the high technology, healthcare and strong cash flow consumer related sectors suggests they will be among the leaders in a recovery scenario.