Markets fell slightly Thursday and if you did not know, you would think it was a quiet day. To the contrary the Nasdaq reversed at the round 4600 handle for the second consecutive session. In the early going it was higher by almost .7%, but those gains evaporated and volume is elevating as traders return from the Labor Day Weekend. It is still early but the leading Nasdaq’s troubles should have traders on edge. The S&P 500 which has lost ground everyday thus far this week is trying to hold on to the round 2000 handle. Bulls can take solace in the fact that the index is not shying away from that 200 number, and the longer it hangs on and consolidates the better. Normally round numbers are hit and swiftly move in one direction, like what occurred when it hit 1900 on 8/7. Both benchmarks are looking at their first losing weeks in five, with the Nasdaq down .4% going into Friday and the S&P 500 lower by .3%. Energy was hit once again and that weakness has been an ongoing theme here, as we pointed out many leaders struggling just to remain above their key 50 day SMAs. Sure BP had some news this morning, but this name is down 6 of the last 8 weeks, and lower by 6.2% this week. There were 3% weekly declines in the last 8 weeks as well on big trade. FTI had the look of a nice cup base with a 63.99 trigger in the making, and a fine example of not front running a trigger, but this weeks 8% loss took that off the table. I am not buying the hype that the group was down on a soft crude price. Put me in the camp that is may be a signal of a weaker economy than many think.

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