Watch For Signs Of Accumulation As A Stock Molds Its Base Pattern.(B)(INVESTOR'S CORNER)

Byline: CHRISTINA WISE

When the stock market's in a solid uptrend, there can be breakouts popping out all over the place.

The trick is separating the faulty ones from those poised to make a giant run north.

A stock's price-and-volume action as it carves out its base can offer several clues about how sustained its run is likely to be.

One positive sign is when shares are being accumulated heavily by institutional investors as the stock forms its base, particularly as it moves up the right side of the pattern.

Big traders, such as mutual funds and hedge funds, have the buying power to fuel a long run-up following the breakout.

To see whether they're snatching up shares of a stock you might be interested in, look at a weekly chart of the stock. Weekly and daily charts are available at investors.com and are color-coded -- blue for up weeks and red for down weeks.