Although I think the bears’ case for a stock market decline is getting stronger, there has yet to be a trigger to get them fired up. Until that happens, we can miss a lot of opportunity sitting on the sidelines. 

That’s why I’m currently looking for short-term bullish opportunities. And right now I like workforce staffing company ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN).

This week, the stock, along with many of its peers, broke out from a month-long consolidation pattern. 

Manpower sports a good technical configuration, trading above all of its long- and short-term moving averages. When a stock trades above all relevant moving averages, we know the trend is up regardless of your trading time frame.

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MAN’s November dip bottomed out in the vicinity of the key 50-day and 200-day averages. And throughout late November, it found support at shorter-term averages from the 30-day to the 10-day. 

Therefore, we have to conclude that the rising trend from the September low remains intact despite what looked to be excessive volatility last month.

With that in mind, Tuesday’s upside breakout from a one-month countertrend decline looks buyable. And, as mentioned, many of Manpower’s peers are in similarly good shape. For example, talent management company Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY) soared more than 4% Tuesday, reaching levels not seen since 2000.

I am loath to buy a stock after such a big move, though — especially since KFY was already up more than 11% in the previous two months. But Manpower makes a much more attractive candidate. It jumped 1.8% on Tuesday as it broke out and still has room to run before reaching resistance from its August high.

Wednesday’s decline set an outside-day reversal to the downside but did not negate the breakout. However, to be on the safe side, we’ll wait for the stock to take out the day’s high to overrule a potential reversal pattern.

Resistance at MAN’s August high runs back to the July 2007 high, and that makes it a strong ceiling. However, since Manpower hit that level in August, fell back and then recovered, we have to conclude there still is demand for the stock and that it’s just a matter of time before it breaks through to new highs.

Further, as MAN fell in August, volume was unremarkable. However, volume spiked higher after the initial damage was done, suggesting traders viewed it as being “on sale.” After several weeks of recovery, the stock fell again in September, and we can see a similar configuration in volume — modest on the decline and heavy after the bottom was reached. 

Therefore, we can expect MAN to run to resistance in the $97 area and, based on the trend, likely a little bit higher as momentum carries it through. 

While that would be a long-term breakout, I would not overstay my welcome in a questionable market facing a possible interest rate hike. And since the Federal Reserve will meet before this trade’s expected time frame is reached, I recommend watching for a possible reversal pattern after the interest rate decision. If that happens, it may be wise to exit the trade early.

Recommended Trade Setup:

— Buy MAN above $92.48
— Set stop-loss at $89
— Set initial price target at $100 for a potential 8% gain in five weeks

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This article was originally published on ProfitableTrading.com: Breakout Says This Stock Could Score Traders Fast Profits