As the summertime doldrums get into full swing the broad markets find themselves with decreasing volume. This has not affected the performance of the markets much though. The S&P 500 (SPY ) finds itself hovering just off the all time highs. In the last eleven trading days only two of them have been negative which has many calling for a temporary pullback. The issue is that, for now there is no reason for anyone to fear the S&P and its strength.
The Nasdaq 100 (QQQ ) is in a similar position though Tuesday showed something that hasn't been seen in some time. The Nasdaq was weaker than the other markets. This was partially due to pullbacks in some of the F.A.N.G. stocks. Though there is some temporary weakness it hasn't seemed to scare off the massive amount of bulls in the Nasdaq, so for now it remains just off all time highs.
Gold (GLD ) has been a big mover so far this week, continuing on its mulit-week push higher. Since hitting lows back on May 9th the GLD has gained over 6%. Technical traders noted that Tuesday's gains pushed it over the yearly highs. As the bulls have moved over to Gold recently, they have also taken the opportunity to buy the Gold Miners (GDX ), which saw a gain of over 4.5% on Tuesday alone.
Finally it seems that oil service (XOP ) stocks are trying to come off their lows. The XOP bounced over 2.5% on Tuesday as crude oil had a strong bounce off lows. Technical traders will be cautious to call this a bottom in the short term until the downtrend, which began late last year comes to an end.
Though the markets are losing some volume to the summertime there are still plenty of pending news events that could bring in some volatility. For this week it will be the outcome of the former FBI directors testimony that could shake the markets.