The markets seem to have stalled out to start the week. Earnings continue to be a major focus and investors may have noticed the slight disconnect between the broad based indices. The S&P 500 (NYSE; SPY) remains relatively flat to start the week and is doing so on about average volume. Investors seem to find no reason to sell as the SPY remains at its all time highs with very little selling pressure.
The Nasdaq 100 (QQQ ) continues to lag behind slightly as it has yet to move to new highs. As for the performance this week, it too has been jostled around by earnings. Tuesdays 13% decline in Netflix (NFLX ) caused the Nasdaq 100 to underperform. Investors seem to almost welcome a small pullback though. for the past few weeks now all of the major indices have moved in a straight line up. To see the markets stall out up here just indicates that buyers are waiting for better prices to enter.
The financials, (XLF ) remains near highs as well, having escaped the earrings season volatility from the big banks. For the past 5 trading days the XLF can even boast a 1.16% gain though there are still names that have yet to report. Those that are waiting for a market pullback will be watching the XLF closely for any signs of weakness. Given the fact that just over 33% of the S&P 500 is made up of the financial sector, the old saying "Where the banks go the market goes" is certainly still the case.
Oil and gas seem to have no impact on the markets at the moment. The US Oil fund (USO ) is down almost 5% since our last ETF update, yet the markets remain supported near highs. The recent downtrend looks as though it is getting weaker though there is speak of support in the price of oil that would translate to the $10.50 area on the USO.
Lastly, tech stocks have specifically outperformed recently. The favored tech ETF (XLK ) is now confidently at new highs. Up over 5% month over month, traders continue to chase this name to new highs seemingly every day. Volume has decreased though in the past few days hinting that maybe the buyers are all in.
