So far this week the markets have basically held near the lows of the selloff that started last week. The S&P 500 (SPY ) has traded almost flat this week, with investors more focused on the upcoming earnings season start. This Friday will kick off the earnings season and big banks like JP Morgan (JPM ) and Wells Fargo (WFC ) will be first up to report.
The Nasdaq 100 (QQQ ) also remains near lows from the selloff over the last 5 trading days. The tech stocks found a little pause in the selling pressure but as a whole remain in a weak position short-term. The QQQ has sold off about 4% from the highs and many of the underlying names in the tech space could find themselves quite vulnerable as we head into earnings season.
Home building (XHB ) is the weakest sector this week as rising interest rates continue to take their toll on an already weak sector. The XHB sold off almost 3% on Tuesday alone as investors found no good reason to participate in the sector. The move on Tuesday puts the home building sector into a bear market with losses totalling over 20% for the year.
Transportation stocks (IYT ) have also continued their selloff this week, with a decline of about 2% already. Technical traders note the decline approaching the 200-day moving average, which has acted as support during this long term uptrend.
On the bright side, Energy (XLE ) and Oil Exploration (XOP ) companies have benefited from rising oil prices. The XLE hit a 2-month high Tuesday and is rapidly approaching its yearly highs of $79.42. The XOP has also been quite strong this week with gains of over 1.5%. The XOP is sitting quite close to highs and currently showing very little in the way of weakness.