Stocks Record Best October In 3-Years

Major indices close nearly flat.  Crude oil futures closed lower again by 1.5% to $57.50.

Monday's market action gave us 3 consecutive lower intraday lows in the S&P 500 Index as well as in the Nasdaq (explanations below).  This is a bullish signal telling us that sellers may be done in the short term.  It will be interesting to see if we get more bullish signals today and through the week (click here for more info).

Stocks on the Move

Marathon Oil (MRO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Q3 Earnings More Than Double, Top Estimates (full story).  MRO shares rise by 1.3%.

Biogen Idec (BIIB | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Q3 Profit Surges On Strong Drug Sales, Non-GAAP EPS Tops Consensus; Lifts FY06 EPS Forecast (full story).  BIIB shares jump by 8.4%.

Loews Corp. (LOW | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Q3 Consolidated Net Income More Than Doubles On 9.7% Revenue Growth (full story).  LOW shares close lower by 0.5%.

Royal Caribbean (RCL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Q3 Profit Declines, Yet Tops Estimates, Revenues Grow; Guides Q4, FY06 (full story).  RCL shares close fractionally lower.

Ethanol, Sweetener-selling Prices Lift Archer Daniels (ADM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Q1 Profit (full story).  ADM shares close fractionally lower.

UAL (UAUA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Turns To Profit In Q3 On Higher Fares, Strong Traffic Demand (full story).  UAUA shares fall by 2.25%.

Qwest (Q | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Turns To Profit In Q3 On Rise In Margin, Revenue Slackens (full story).  Q shares fall by 4.2%.

For more stories as they happen, go to our Breaking News section.

Use our most popular trading tool to find out how your stocks will move in the next 5 days.

3 Higher Highs In A Row and 3 Lower Lows In A Row- The same tactics applied to 3 consecutive closes in the same direction apply here. 3 higher highs identifies a market that is overbought, especially when its below its 200 day ma. 3 consecutive lower lows is an excellent time to be looking for long positions when the market is above its 200 and to be locking in short positions when its below its 200 day.