Major averages posted a strong finish yesterday as they closed near the top of their trading ranges on higher volume. Despite the somewhat negative economic news out of Germany and from the IMF which revised its expectations for global growth downward, the US markets traded higher in a demonstration of their resilience. Often, when a market bucks bad news, it is a sign of strength. Later in the day, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book showed continued optimism for slow and steady growth in 2016. The NASDAQ regained its 200-day moving average as all the major market averages broke out to higher highs since the February lows. The broader NYSE Composite Index, which had been finding resistance at its 200-day moving average, confirmed the bullish action by pushing above the line yesterday in a move to higher highs. Futures have rallied slightly this morning on slight misses from the CPI and weekly jobless claims data. Pocket pivots: Chinese online language school New Oriental Ed & Tech Group (EDU) – Earnings and sales increasing, group rank 55. EDU is bouncing off its 20-day moving average. Semiconductor company Mellanox (MLNX) – Pretax margin 21.7%, group rank 22. Note how it tends to make new highs then pulls back to its 20dma. This is somewhat standard for a semiconductor stock. Construction materials company Vulcan Materials (VMC) – Surging earnings, group rank 38. VMC is coming up off its 20dma, and gapped higher on its prior earnings report.