With the markets near all time highs and lack of scheduled news the media continues to focus on the Dow hitting 20,000. It is a number that the US markets have never seen before and would certainly be historic. As of this writing the Dow is just shy of the 20,000 number by about 100 points with two days left in 2016. The (DIA  ) is the ETF of choice for most Dow traders and its corresponding number to the Dow hitting 20,000 would be $200. As of now there is very little fear from the longs to sell as they anxiously await the potential new high.

The (SPY  ) also remains near all time highs but has been rather uneventful in the final few weeks of 2016. For the last 7 days the SPY has been almost perfectly flat with no real progress outside the short term range that technical traders are looking for. A move below the range would likely cause traders to lock in profits and await cheaper prices. It remains unclear if a move to new highs would spark a new round of serious buying.

The Semiconductor space (SMH  ) continues to shoot to new highs on almost a daily basis. Year to date the SMH boasts almost a 40% gain in an uptrend that traders have referred to as slow and steady. This keeps traders confident that pullbacks will be limited.

Lastly, Gold (GLD  ) continues to trade a discounted prices relative to the dollar. In the last quarter of the year GLD has declined 14% leaving many to speculate at a new, short term buying opportunity. For the week so far it has been rather uneventful which is expected on this holiday week.