Bears Are Bolder

There was a lot of selling pressure and plenty of red on the screens today, but most notable was the weak intraday action. We were in good shape for a late rebound after the sharp selloff in the morning. We did start to bounce around 1:30 p.m. EDT, but the buyers couldn't keep it going, and we closed in the middle of the intraday range. When the market was trending higher, the buyers would be tripping over each other to add long exposure late in the day.

There were two others negatives today. First was that breadth was quite poor. We were around 3-to-1 negative, and the banks and retailers that had been leading fizzled late. The second negative is the degree to which many stocks have been hit. The thinner small-caps were not attracting any bids. The buyers just stood aside and let things free-fall. Without dip-buying interest, many stocks become ugly very fast. With earnings season coming up, conditions could change quickly, but for now the poor intraday action makes it clear that the bears have the edge.