The markets have started their second heavy week of earnings with all eyes on Apple (AAPL ) and the Federal Reserve's 2-day meeting. With these things in mind, investors have been mostly bearish in the S&P 500 (SPY ), though Tuesday was a positive day. Technical traders note the support of the 200-day moving average which continues to hold prices at these levels.
The Nasdaq 100 (QQQ ) has been a choppy mess lately. This week was no exception. With earnings on many tech names still pending, investors seem to be in wait-and-see mode. So far this week the QQQ is slightly positive. The response from Apple's earnings certainly helps a little.
Part of the problem is the financials (XLF ), which are being held back by the bears. The XLF is negative for the week, but seems to be holding onto the 200-day moving average at this point. Part of the problem is that the bulls can't seem to gain any traction. Every bounce seems to be immediately sold off. This will weigh on the bulls' minds. Many worry that the bulls will lose patience and join the bears in their efforts to push prices under the 200-day moving average.
The dollar (UUP ) continues its strong rally from last week. So far this week the UUP has seen nothing but green and is now higher by almost 2% since this time last week. Technical traders are convinced that the downtrend is over in the short term after the breakout seen just a few weeks ago.
Lastly, gold (GLD ) has fallen back to the 200-day moving average this week for the first time this year. The story of more and more sectors and commodities hitting the 200-day moving average continues. With no real attempts to bounce off this popular indicator, things may be about to head south.