Monday, December 20, 2010

Santa

It may be a bit premature, but today sure felt like traditional holiday trading. The indices were mixed, we didn't close very well, volume was thin and the action a bit jerky in places, but there were plenty of movers, especially among select small-caps. There is this positive underlying tone to some of the action that tends to occur during the holiday, and we saw some signs of it today.

Key leadership names like AMZN, GOOG, PCLN and AAPL looked quite shaky early, but they came back later in the day and closed OK. The major indices, with the exception of the Dow, all closed at the highs of the year, but they were already at those levels, so it didn't take much to keep them there. Gold, oil, coal and commodities were the leaders despite some strength in the dollar, while semiconductors and steel lagged.

Once again the serial top-callers were disappointed. There sure seems to be a lot of them around, which may be one of the reasons this market refuses to roll over. Too many market players are trying to anticipate the top, and they keep having to cover when the market refuses to crack.

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