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Staying in touch with current events and market action is important for trading success. This blog contains topics of interest that relate to individual stocks, market indices, market sectors/industries, and ETFs. 

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A Day Telling Us Little

Charles Schaap -

On Wednesday, the market fell off of the open, and then it ranged sideways for the rest of the day. This was a day when the BIGs sat mostly on the sidelines. All three major indices declined on the day.

The Nasdaq Composite gave back -34 points (+0.83%) after gaining +39 on Tuesday. The Nasdaq also closed -5 points below Tuesday's low, giving the edge to the bears. In contrast, the S&P and Dow both had inside days (indecision). The S&P lost -4 points (-0.22%) and the Dow declined -12 points (-0.08%). 

Volume was lower across all three major indices. Advancers beat decliners by a slight 5-to-4 margin, while up volume was even with down volume. Breadth for the day was weak in both directions, not strong enough to create range expansion to the upside or downside. This was  day that did not provide much information on the short-term direction.

Tomorrow's economic reports: Initial jobless claims, continuing claims, durable goods

September Could Be Worse than August
Charles Schaap - August 30, 2013

Historically, August is one of the 4 worst performing months for the S&P 500 (source: Stock Trader's Almanac). This year, the S&P's performance in August fit the history, falling -2.8% during a market correction. The large, blue arrow represents the month of August....keep reading