March 19, 2024

Oil gets crushes while market dips

The Market: A small down day which could have looked worse if not for a late day rally off the lows.  Interesting to see the leaders to the downside were the Dow (DIA) and Russell 2000 (IWM).  We were looking for the market to close just off the lows and then gap down tomorrow for a short-term long opportunity but today’s end of day rally has changed that set-up. Overall we remain cautious on the broad market and believe the choppy trading of late will continue. Energy (XLE) led to the downside, again, as crude oil continues to slide reaching…

Early dip is bought, finishes flat

The Market: Overall a quiet day in the markets following yesterday’s FOMC statement as an early dip in the S&P 500 found buyers and the index finished flat on the session while the NASDAQ (QQQ) led. The S&P 500 looks to need at least a short term pullback to regroup before any longer term move higher but we will be interested to watch that first pullback as we are from from believing the coast is all clear and that the market is off to new highs. In individual sections, Utilities (XLU) led finishing up 0.74% on the session followed by…

Market continues to grind

Index & Sector performance 2/19/15 The Market: The slow grind into options expiration continues with the S&P 500 (SPY) and Dow (DIA) finishing slightly lower while the Russell 2000 (IWM) finished slightly higher and the NASDAQ (QQQ) led.  We would expect to potentially see volatility tomorrow not only due to options expiration but also potential headline risk out of Europe. Overall a mixed session as yesterday’s sector leader to the upside, the Utilities (XLU), was today’s downside leader finishing 1/13% lower while Technology (XLK) followed closely by Consumer Discretionary (XLY) led to the upside. With only Flash Manufacturing PMI tomorrow,…

Low Volume Slow grind Higher

Index & Sector performance 2/17/15 The Market: Monday the markets were closed in observance of President’s Day.  As trading started back Monday evening, the futures traded lower but by the open Tuesday all the loses were recouped and after an early session consolidation the index pressed toward new closing highs.  Volume was light but this could be due to the winter storms around the nation.  All broad indices on the WSC Scoreboard are noticeably higher YTD with the Dow (DIA) lagging and the NASDAQ (QQQ) leading. In individual sectors it a little more mixed.  HealthCare (XLV) was the clear leading…

S&P follows crude lower yet again

Index & Sector performance 12/15/14 The Market: Crude oil started to rebound in Sunday’s overnight session and helped the major indices start the day with a gap higher but the optimism was short lived.  Oil quickly started to lose ground after the open and reached fresh 52 week lows by noon taking the S&P with it.  Both indices found a midday bottom but only the S&P was able to close above those lows. We are interested to see if there is follow-through on the downside tomorrow in the S&P and if so we suggest traders remaining open to the possibility…

Back test of the 20 & down

Index & Sector performance 12/11/14 The Market: Strong optimism in early trading was attributed to better than expected Retail Sales numbers and Unemployment Claims along with the stabilization of oil but in midday trading, after the S&P 500 (SPY) had rallied back to re-test its 20 day SMA, oil started to slide and took the SPY with it.  While the table above shows the SPY up on the session, as it currently stands those gains have been entirely erased in the aftermarket. We will be watching the overnight session to see if the S&P can stabilize, reverse, or if it…

Utilities shine amidst sea of red

Index & Sector performance 10/1/14 The Market: All four of the main indices on the WSC Scoreboard finished well into negative territory with the NASDAQ (QQQ) leading the charge down 1.60%. In individual sectors it was the Utilities (XLU) that stood out closing 0.57% higher while the rest of the list was well into negative territory.  It was a broad rally across the XLU with many stocks participating but some noteworthy gainers were Exelon (EXC) up 1.41%, Southern (SO) up 1.01%, and NRG Energy (NRG) up 2.33%.  EXC has been a favorite of ours but we would also watch SO…

S&P 500 pullback coming soon?

Index & Sector performance 6/6/14 The Market: Yet again the Russell 2000 led in today’s trading as all 4 broad indices from the WSC Scoreboard closed higher.  Also after spending much of 2014 in the red, the Russell 2000 (IWM) is now ever so slightly higher on the year. Healthcare (XLV) and Utilities (XLU) were the lone laggards in the individual sectors while Energy (XLE), Industrials (XLI), and Transportation (IYT) were the notable leaders.  Taking a peak further at the Industrials, which were the overall leader, we see Fluor (FLR) posted a 2.77% gain today following up on a strong…

A low volume flat session

Index & Sector performance 11/25/13 The Market: Monday’s trading started with some optimism but that was sold in early trading and the market started climbing back toward the highs of the day after a pullback.  The rally efforts topped around 2:30 pm EST and the market then declined into the close but after the dust settled it was a flat day.  Again volumes were on the light side. Today’s economic calendar was light with only Pending Home Sales on the docket and came in worse than expected posting a -0.6% when 2.2% was expected.  Tomorrow we get more housing data…

Today the quiet before the storm?

Index & Sector performance 10/31/13 The Market: Second straight down day for the S&P 500.  The day was slightly more active than the closing prices might suggest as a very early up open was quickly sold down to the 1756 levels where the market bottomed around 10:30am EST and then rallied to 1768 by 2:30 pm EST.  What took almost all day to gain was then lost in that last hour of trading with the S&P closing back near the earlier lows for the day at 1756.  What needs to be seen is if this relatively quiet day is the…