AAPL - freefalling to the big $500

Apple (AAPL) closed a further 3.7% lower @ $537, and is now down almost 10% so far this month! There is no sign yet - of what is a multi-month collapse wave, coming to an end any time soon.


AAPL, daily

AAPL, monthly

Summary

The daily declines do seem to be accelerating, and there is no sign of any floor yet.

The bigger monthly chart suggest the $500-480 range as a very strong floor.

There are plenty of posters/commentators out there who are touting low $400s, although most of them suggests that target for spring 2013, certainly not within the next few days!
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The long term 'doomer' outlook, is probably something to ignore, but...from a chart perspective, the $300...would be a natural target sometime in late 2013.

All those people who were touting AAPL $1000...or even higher - some as recently as a few weeks ago, they all appear to have moved to a radio-silent.status.

MS - a big financial in trouble

Morgan Stanley (MS) saw a massive 8.5% decline to close @ $16.64. The drop was the biggest of the year, and with the main indexes looking dire for the next few days, further downside is expected.


MS, daily

Summary

Next key support is the old July/August peak of $15...which is a clear 10% lower than today's close.

MS is a huge financial monster, there are all sorts of very crazy rumours surrounding it, and if $15 fails to hold, then a test of the important $12 level will be viable.

HL - another loss making miner

Hecla Mining (HL) reported lousy Q3 earnings, with a loss of around $0.9 million, on much lower revenue of $55 million. Like many miners, HL is suffering from falling commodity prices, which is certainly ironic considering the continued action of the central banks.


HL, daily

Summary

I am massive fan of the miners. They are one of the few decent sectors for whom I have genuine great respect. A damn hard job, real work, a real product, that has a real utility, a real benefit to mankind. Its something that is a stark contrast to the paper pushing/gambling maniacs in wall street.

Yet, with silver prices well below their 2011 highs, the little miners are suffering with lower margins, and in some cases, no margins at all!

HL lost just under 1 million, on revenue of 55 million. Its certainly not a disaster, but it sure is not good either. If they are having difficulty with making a profit whilst Silver is still in the 25/35 range, then they sure better hope silver does not break back <25 next year.

see: Hecla - the streak is broken

Today's price action was very appropriate, the obvious downside target in the days and weeks ahead is the big $5-00 level, where a rising 200 day MA also lurks.

HL is unquestionably a great company, but it is a loss making one, and today's price action certainly indicates 'stay away', at least until we see if the big $5 support level can hold.

If Mr Deflation does appear in 2013, with falling metal prices, then I'd guess the May low of $3.68 will be taken out, opening up the $3 to $2.50 zone.

HL remains a highly speculative little miner, but is one to watch..for the longer term.