The market would have been better off without the quick spike on the mention of QE3 in the Fed minutes this afternoon. When the kneejerk buying on the news fizzled, the buyers who had been providing underlying support bailed out and the market finished weak.
It's obvious that market players are nervous about further negative news out of Europe. Moody's downgraded Ireland's debt this afternoon, but the situations in Italy and Greece is still in flux, and that is going to keep folks on the sidelines.
The big negative today was weak action in technology stocks such as MCHP, QSFT, NVLS and MXIM. That is worrisome action as we kick off earnings season, and hopefully it's not the start of a theme.
