The markets continue to push off the dramatic lows seen into the end of the year with the S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY) now over 10% off those lows. Inside the S&P 500 we now have 65 names that have gained 8% or more and 152 names that have gained 5% or more in just the last 5 trading days. The SPY has spent the first few days of the week in the positive though many are looking for a pause or pullback in this rally given how far, and fast it has bounced off the lows.
The Nasdaq 100 (NASDAQ: QQQ) also finds itself around 10% off the Christmas Eve lows and has been in rally mode so far this week. The big tech names have seen strong recoveries since hitting those lows and have mostly been in the positive this week so far.
Semiconductors (NYSE: SMH) have found a touch of weakness as news from Samsung weighed on some of the chipmakers. The SMH has been an underperformer in this recent rally by the broad markets and this week has been mostly mixed so far.
Transportation stocks (NYSE: IYT) were given a little boost on Tuesday putting them higher by about 2.5% on the week thanks to news out of the railroads that spurred a string of upgrades. The airline stocks were the only area in the IYT that have held back the sector this week.
Consumer discretionary (NYSE: XLY) stocks have been one of the bright spots since the markets bottomed out in December. This week they carry on with their rally as investors' concerns of a slowing economy seem to fade for now. The sector is higher by about 3.5% this week alone.
Lastly, Oil (NYSE: USO) has seen 7 straight positive days as investors continue to bottom pick the beaten down sector. For the week, oil has added around 3%.