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…
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…
Early optimism wanes
Index & Sector performance 6/24/14 The Market: After a very tight trading range in the overnight session, the market moved higher after the New Home Sales and Consumer Confidence data was released at 10 am ET. Both handily beat estimates rising to their best levels in 6 years, however, this optimism proved to be short lived as the S&P 500 topped in midday trading and spent the remainder of the day losing ground finally finishing 12 points lower in the S&P 500 cash index and roughly 20 points off the intraday highs. In individual sectors, Energy (XLE) clearly led all…
Higher inflation ahead of Fed
Index & Sector performance 6/17/14 The Market: In today’s Economic news, CPI came in higher than expected while the Building Permits and Housing Starts were below estimates. The initial reaction off this data sent the S&P 500 futures trading lower but ultimately the index bottomed before the open and continued higher the remainder of the day. Checking the WSC scoreboard the Russell 2000 led the charge while the other indices closed flat or slightly higher. In individual sectors, the Financials (XLF) posting a 1.02% gain and the Retailers (XRT) finishing up 0.87% were the strongest groups. In the Financials, MetLife…
Tech stocks lead sell-off
Index & Sector performance 5/6/14 The Market: Last night we noted 1872ES as a key level to watch. If it held as overnight support then the index could look to target Friday’s 1886ES highs but if lost then we could see Monday’s lows of 1860.50ES tested and then 1850ES. In overnight trading the S&P was only able to reach 1881.50ES falling short of Friday’s highs and by the open the futures were sitting at our key 1872ES level. After some initial jostling around the 1872ES level, the index started to roll over in midday trading reaching as low as…
Low volume day follows the trend
Index & Sector performance 11/22/13 The Market: The market made solid gains trending higher all day to close over $1800 in the S&P 500. If there was anything concerning about today’s rally, it was the volume which seemed very light but seeing a market move in the direction of the trend on low volume days is not uncommon. There was not much on the Economic data front today besides some fed speak but Thursday the 21st was big. Unemployment Claims came in better than expected posting 10K below (323K vs 333K) expectations while the previous week was adjusted slightly higher…
ECB moved & so did the markets
Index & Sector performance 11/7/13 The Market: The S&P 500 spiked higher around 8am EST time after the ECB announced a rate cut. This move was further helped by a strong Q3 GDP number. While we opened off the pre-market highs, the real selling began after the bells. After each move lower the market tried to stage a rally but all were sold. The S&P 500 closed right at the 20 day SMA From peak to trough using the S&P futures we saw a near 30 point swing to the downside. In economic news, GDP came in much stronger than…
China fears helped send market lower
Index & Sector performance 10/23/13 The Market: Today was a gap own and meander day where the majority f the losses were seen in very early trading and the rest of the day was mostly choppy. News attributed the drop to tightening fears out of China which sent international markets lower but as we have discussed here the market seemed ripe for a pullback. More lower.. In economic data there was not too much today with import prices coming in roughly as expected while the Home Price Index was well below expectations (0.3% vs 0.8%) . Yesterday we had the…