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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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Another Low Volume Day

Charles Schaap -

On Wednesday, the market opened weak, and it ranged for most of the day. But at around 2:30  p.m., the market began to drop. The sell off lack volume for a big decline, but the move did wipe out 1/2 of the gains from Monday's strong up day. The Nasdaq fell -29 points (-0.72%), the S&P dropped -8 points (-0.47%), and the Dow lost -101 points (-0.61%). 

Volume on the Nasdaq and S&P were was lower for the second day in a row. Two days of lower volume raises the chances of a big range day tomorrow or the next day. Decliners led advancers by an 8-to-5 ratio and down volume out paced up volume by 9-to-4. 

Since the correction, the Nasdaq has been weaker than the S&P, and the Naz has already fallen to its 200 SMA. The S&P, however, has been holding steady above its 50 EMA. I think the S&P is the index to watch; if it drops below its 50 EMA, then this correction will likely be longer and deeper. 

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