Market Bounces Off it’s Lows at the Close

Today’s market finished the session on a flat note thanks to a late afternoon grind that lifted the market off its low. The S&P 500 ($SPY) ended unchanged while the NASDAQ ($QQQ) outperformed, adding 0.1 percent.

It was surprising to see the market reaction to the FOMC minutes so muted. You would think the bulls have jumped on the likelihood that the Fed will not be raising rates any time soon.

Within the ten Offensive sectors, only six posted gains. Only three added more than 0.3%: industrials ($XLI+0.6%), consumer staples ($XLP+0.6%), and utilities ($XLU+2.4%). Financials ($XLF-0.6%) and the energy sector ($XLE-1.2%) gave up most of their gain from yesterday and were responsible for much of the early weakness in the market this morning. I want to see if further weakness brings back some volatility.

I have seen some cyclical sector names. Specifically, industrials are rallying: Boeing (BA 151.17, +1.5), General Electric (GE 25.25, +0.08), and Deere (DE 92.75, +2.83), all moving solidly to the upside. Shares of Deere getting a catalyst after it was reported on the news that Buffet had invested in the company. I will keep an eye on these blue chip heavy weights.

One note, today’s market volume was well below average with just 716 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor. Without the conviction of Volume, any market advance will be meeting with Skepticism.

Have a great trading day!