Markets registered a mild late day sell off to finish lower with the Nasdaq falling .3% and the S&P 500 by the same amount. The Nasdaq has every right to back off as this week it was nearly 300 handles above its rising 50 day SMA at one point. Those who try and trade around it can go ahead but a very strong uptrend is still intact and remember if you are trying to call a top here that is tough enough, but to then try and determine an exact low to get back in is a very difficult proposition. With the indexes or stocks one could certainly trade around core positions, but market timing is daunting. For the Nasdaq it was just the second time it experienced back to back down sessions to demonstrate just how strong the run has been. As the tech rich benchmark is up in the high teens YTD it is going for a 6th consecutive positive year and is a good reminder that things in motion tend to stay that way. The Russell 2000 dropped a fractional .1% Tuesday and is a good barometer on the strength of small caps that derive their revenue here in the US. The talk of European outperformance is getting a bit loud and for a contrarian that may be unsettling, but again trends are much more likely to persist than they are to reverse. Names like HEINY is now on an 8 week winning streak and higher 20 of the last 24 weeks and has taken out a weekly 47.91 cup base trigger the week ending 5/19. The Dutch IT play INXN is making another attempt at surpassing a bull flag trigger here as it now sits at all time highs and below is the chart and how it appeared in our Tuesday 5/23 Game Plan. Getting back stateside and peering individual sectors energy was a clear winner today with the XLE rising 1.2% and that is a bit concerning when a lagging group leads the way for a second consecutive session, or is it just giving winner industries a prudent rest and giving it stamina for the next leg higher?
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