All major U.S. stock indices finished in the red again last week except for the Russell 2000, which gained 2.8%, reversing the pattern that we have seen for most of this year where small-cap stocks lag the market. This emerging strength in small caps may be a good sign for the market between now and year end. But, for now, the broad market SP 500, blue-chip Dow industrials and tech bellwether Nasdaq 100 are all negative for 2014 with no clear sign of a bottom in sight.
All sectors of the SP 500 posted losses last week except for industrials, materials and utilities. One potential bright spot is that my own ETF-based metric shows the biggest inflow of investor assets last week went into energy. Should this continue, it may be a leading indication of a fourth-quarter buying opportunity in this downtrodden sector. Stay tuned.
Keep Your Eyes Focused on Europe
In last week's Market Outlook, I discussed a bearish head-and-shoulders formation in Germany's DAX index that targeted an additional 11% decline to 7,800. I said the positive long-term correlation between the DAX and the SP 500 implied that the broader U.S. market may also be vulnerable to more weakness.
Despite last week's modest rebound, the 7,800 downside target remains valid as long as the March 14 and Aug. 8 lows near 8,913 loosely contain the index on the upside.
The next chart shows the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE: DIA) broke down last week below the $165.51 support level that I first identified in the May 12 Market Outlook. The ETF has key resistance at $165.63 to $168.78, which contains the 200-day moving average (major trend proxy), the 50% and 61.8% Fibonacci retracements of the Sept. 19 decline, and the 50-day moving average (minor trend proxy). Continue reading "In The Week Ahead: No Clear Sign Of A Market Bottom"
