The markets start the week by taking investors for a wild ride on the wonderful rollercoaster of emotions. Monday the market surged higher sending the major indices up over 1%. The S&P 500 index ETF (NYSE: SPY) popped 1% and investors showed their enthusiasm with above average volume. The Nasdaq 100 ETF (NASDAQ: QQQ), supported by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) soared over 1%, and again, investors cheered by diving in with above average volume. Even the Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE: IWM) charged ahead with a strong day, and again, met its rally with above average volume.
But all that came to a crashing end on Tuesday as the markets erased all of Monday's gains and then some. The decline on Tuesday sent all of the major index ETFs into the red for the week and left investors wondering why these major one-day reversals keep happening. Could it be a sign of more weakness to come?
Many investors look to Gold as a safe haven trade, so many were wondering if Gold would give any hints as to the market direction. The Gold ETF (NYSE; GLD) has been steadily trending higher, and boasts just over a 1% gain on the week. Volume crept higher Tuesday as investors did in fact seem to be headed for the safe haven commodity.
One area of the market that investors do not go when weakness looms is the retail sector. The retail stocks (NYSE: XRT) continue to get pounded with earnings misses and economic uncertainty going forward. Add to that that Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) seems to be stealing every retailers business and one can understand why the retail sector is down over 10% on the month.
Meanwhile, oil continues to get stronger and stronger. The Oil ETF (NYSE: USO) made new 2016 highs Tuesday as it gained over 1%, closing near the highs. The popular ETF can now boast an 8.36% gain on the year as it continues to show a slow and steady rally. Media attention on oil continues to be heavy. Major investment banks like Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) have also changed their tune, now bullish on the commodity.