The markets have started the week in pullback mode with the S&P 500 just shy of all time highs. This is pretty typical ahead of earnings which begins later this week with the larger banking stocks going first. The SPY now has less than 2% to rally back to highs but if you were to add back dividends you would basically be at highs already.
The large banks (XLF ) were lower on the day, holding back the broad markets as the sector continues to struggle with overhead resistance. The XLF has traded in a wide and sloppy range for the better part of the year so far and up until this week had shown decent strength and volume which investors felt may be enough to push through resistance.
Regional Banks (KRE ) has also sold off a touch this week after a very impressive bounce off lows. From the Federal Reserve's decision to leave rates unchanged which caused a drop of over 12% the KRE has managed to recover almost 10% of that all in one "V-Shaped" bottom. Many investors felt this bounce came a little too far too fast and would welcome a small pullback or consolidation.
Oil started to see a little weakness following news that Russia will be looking to up production at the next meeting of the OPEC nations. Traders note the continued backwardation pricing phenomenon where oil is technically more expensive in the short term and less expensive in the long term. This historically leads to more oil flooding the markets in the short term which could support a pullback in prices.
Industrials (XLI ) continues to be a weak spot so far this week mostly thanks to Boeing (BA ) and their continued weakness. The XLI has about 70 names in the space with Boeing being the largest position at about 8.5%.