The Nightcap
The Market: A very strong session which was led by the NASDAQ (QQQ) and Dow (DIA) which the S&P 500 (SPY) not far behind. It was interesting to see the Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight index lag the S&P pointing to the gains being in the higher weighted stocks in the S&P 500 index. Additionally the Russell 2000 (IWM) underperformed posting half the gains of the SPY. In individual sectors the day session was led by the Industrials (XLI) followed closely by the Materials (XLB). Also closing up over 2% on the session was Technology (XLK) and that move looks…
Weak Data & Earnings help drive stocks lower
Index & Sector performance 1/27/15 The Market: While the Dow (DIA) and S&P 500 (SPY) finished down over 1%, it was the NASDAQ (QQQ) which led the session to the downside finishing 2.59% lower. Microsoft (MSFT) was the biggest drain on the QQQ as it finished down 9.25% after a disappointing EPS report and even managed to pull down Apple (AAPL) which finished 3.5% lower on the session. Things may look a little better for the tech sector tomorrow as AAPL is up after hours after reporting EPS. The Russell 2000 (IWM) managed to be the relative winner finishing down…
The 20’s support today’s drop
Index & Sector performance 12/8/14 The Market: The S&P opened lower but like every other recent micro pullback it found a bottom and started to rally higher. The market again looked like it wouldn’t be denied a higher close but then after the initial morning pop the indices started to roll and continued lower until roughly 2pm ET when they found a bottom for the session and moved off the lows into the close. The lows on the S&P 500 (SPY) and NASDAQ (QQQ) correspond with the 20 day SMA and we will be looking to see if those lows…
Quiet start to the month
Index & Sector performance 11/3/14 The Market: The market started the day slightly higher building on last week’s extremely strong session but the market ran out of steam in the short term and the S&P 500 started pulling back in afternoon trading finishing flat on the session. All in all it was a low volume quiet session but the Bulls can point to the fact that they didn’t give ground after reaching new highs. We do not expect the remainder of the month to be as quiet as today and would plan for swings in both directions much like October…
Financial earnings remain focus for week
Index & Sector performance 7/14/14 The Market: All four major indices on the WSC Scoreboard finished equally higher in today’s action. We continue to be most interested in the Russell 2000 (IWM) and the fact that the Small Caps are not enjoying as solid of a year as the other major indices. We ultimately believe for further gains the small caps need to be involved. In individual sectors the WSC Scoreboard was led by Energy (XLE) which finished up 0.87%. Also finishing higher on the WSC Scoreboard was the Financials (XLF) which saw Citigroup (C) beat earnings this morning and…
This down day came with volume
Index & Sector performance 7/8/14 The Market: *** Administrative Note: Due to traveling, this will be the last update for the week. *** A second straight day lower for all 4 broad market indices on the WSC Scoreboard but setting today apart from other recent down days was a noticeable pick-up in volume. Leading the charge to the downside was the NASDAQ (QQQ) and Russell 2000 (IWM) both finishing 1.2% lower. We remain cautious on the overall broad market and as noted in last night’s report are watching the IWM closely. Its failure to lead and make new highs with…
Short week, low vol, mixed results
Index & Sector performance 6/30/14 The Market: An overall mixed session saw the Russell 2000 and NASDAQ finish higher while the Dow and S&P 500 finished slightly lower. Volume was down which will likely be a trend this shortened holiday trading week. In Individual sectors, the Utilities (XLU) led and earlier in the session the Transportation sector (IYT) was a relatively close second but a late day sell off put it just behind the Materials (XLB) and in-line with Retail (XRT). The largest gainer in the Utilities was Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (PNW) which finished up 2.41% and looks like…
Nasdaq & Russell lead indices lower
Index & Sector performance 4/25/14 The Market: All the major indices were down in Friday’s action with the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) and Russell 2000 (IWM) leading the way lower. In individual sectors the Transportation index (IYT) and Consumer Discretionary (XLY) were the biggest losers. The transports are an interesting case as they were one of the sectors making new highs recently but after an outside day yesterday the index followed through strongly to the downside today. Leading the index lower was JetBlue (JBLU) closing down 5.38%. After missing EPS yesterday, Reuters announced today that the Flight attendants will be looking…
Strong sell off starts week
Index & Sector performance 2/3/14 The Market: In the News: The following noteworthy companies are scheduled to report earnings before tomorrow’s open: EMR, ETN, ADM, CME, SE, HCA, SIRI, IP, BDX, MHFI, DLPH, BSX, KORS, FIS, CLX, AMG, SEP Analyst Comments: The Game Plan: