Aligning for a Snapback Rally

Crude oil, energy stocks, and Russian stocks are all still in bounce-back mode off their recent swoons lower, with some of them acting better than others. As I write this, energy stocks housed in the XLE sector ETF are making fresh session highs, while crude oil (seen on the ETF's 30-minute timeframe, first below) is also strong. Russia, however, seen on the RSX ETF hourly chart, second below, is lagging. On the way down, these tickers were essentially tethered together. So, it is interesting to see Russia noticeably sluggish today. But crude is still a candidate for a double-bottom, discussed earlier this week. To my eye, the RSX needs to hold above $15 for the snapback rally to continue for energy and energy stocks--It is likely the latter two will succumb to selling pressure if Russia sees another dive. The RSX over $15.80 and $16.76 opens the door to another sustained leg higher in the counter-trend bounce. Overall, the badly-beaten down energy stocks, Russian stocks, and crude oil are still in devastating downtrends where choppy, gapping, and frustrating action is the rule rather than the exception, even if they are in snapback rally mode. Put another way, keep those stop-losses firm, timeframes short, and take gains when you have them.