Last week’s Selling Stalls, Bonds Tested Breakout, Gold Hits Resistance

We saw actual selling pressure last week in stocks, but as usual, it was short lived. The S&P 500 ($SPY) moved above $211.78 on Tuesday afternoon then worked its way lower the rest of the week. With a close below $210.5 on the $SPY, the ETF fell around $1.4 in two and a half days. This action was fair and orderly and part of a normal pullback within a bigger uptrend right now.

Looking back at February it was quite the month with nice gains all around. Tech ($QQQ) was up almost 7 percent while small-caps ($IWM) gained over 3 percent. Consumer Discretionary SPDR (+7.41 percent) led, while the Utilities SPDR lagged (-8.03 percent).

This is a nice combination, with one of the most offensive sectors leading, and the defensive sector lagging for the bulls. The Bonds ($TLT) tested breakout levels mid-week last week. But they  could not hold today, breaking at $128. This negates the breakout and dashes the hopes of the bond bulls.

Gold ($GLD) trade continues to be bearish. A push at about $118 on the Gold ETF ($GLD) would signal that the gold bugs could be gaining some upside momentum. Have a great trading day!