ChartSmarter Monday Game Plan 7/14/14

Markets ended the week Friday on a lukewarm note going out on highs for the session. Mild morning losses were overcome and the Nasdaq finished higher by .44% and the S&P 500 by .15%. For the week the Nasdaq fell 1.6%, and lost ground for only the second time in nine weeks. The S&P 500 fell for the third time in the last five weeks, but did manage to outperform the Nasdaq dropping just .9%. The S&P 500 is now higher by 6.4% YTD, compared to the Nasdaq’s 5.7% advance. Next week will be a busy week with earnings, which can be a volatile for the markets overall. Reports from “old tech” names like YHOO EBAY and INTC, along with important financial names like C GS and JPM should have a big say to where markets will look to move toward going into the summer doldrums. Energy which has been a robust group in 2014 was the hardest hit Friday. It is way to early to think this sector will falter, and rotation is always a good thing. But their were some big losers this week with RRC falling for a 5th consecutive week, dropping 13% in that timeframe. It sliced its 200 day SMA for the first time in 2014 on Thursday. A promising IPO RICE is also on a 5 week losing streak, demonstrating relative weakness long before mild softness this week. It fell almost 20% in the last 5 weeks alone. The solar names were hit pretty good as well with the likes of SCTY CSIQ FSLR all falling between 8-9% this week. Are they the canaries in the coal mine, that the sun may be setting on the markets for the short term, pun intended?