ChartSmarter Thursday Game Plan 9/10/15

Markets turned a potential positive morning into an afternoon slump. Truth be told the started descending right from the open. Gains of 1% became losses of 1.4% for the S&P 500 and 1.1% for the Nasdaq. The type of volatility we are experiencing recently is bearish. Bullish markets climb the wall of worry normally in a very smooth fashion, and bear markets just the opposite. There has been a tug of war and if the S&P 500 finishes higher this week, going into tomorrow it has gained 1.1% so far, it would be the 10th week of one being up and one down (h/t @ryandetrick). The S&P 500 is mired in a bearish pennant pattern and today produced a bearish dark cloud cover candle, although those normally work best near 52 week or all time highs. The round numbers have come into play with the benchmark as the round 2000 number has been ironclad in not letting it through. Since falling below it the week ending 8/21 losing 5.8%, each of the last 3 weeks have come within just 14 handles only to be turned back. The Nasdaq has traded even more erratic, with intraday lows on 8/24 to intraday highs today covering 570 handles. Keep in mind that is just 12 sessions. None of the 10 major S&P 500 sectors were green today and energy was the biggest laggard of the day losing more than 1.5%. A few names in the group are holding up decently and below is a Dutch play which came public just a little more than 2 years ago how it was presented in our Tuesday 9/8 Game Plan.