Monday, August 30, 2010

Will We Test The Year's Lows? Or Will Kass Be Right?

The most positive thing you can say about the action today is that the volume was light. We started off flat, but the good mood from Friday completely evaporated, and we closed very poorly. In fact, we closed almost exactly where we were when the text of the Bernanke speech was released on Friday.

Breadth was particularly ugly, with about 1,250 gainers to 4,400 decliners. All major sectors ended up in negative territory, and bonds reversed up sharply following the Friday selloff.

The S&P 500 is still above the key 1040 level we bounced off of a couple times last week, but the action is anemic. It isn't too difficult to determine what is wrong with this market. There is very little participation, which means volume is at its lowest this year. The only news flow we have is about the economy, and the only people who see positives there are politicians running for reelection. There is no urgency to buy, and those who want to escape end up selling into a vacuum.

There isn't much we can do about it other than stay patient.

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