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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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Market Digesting News from the Ukraine

Charles Schaap -

On Monday, the market continued a sell off that began last Friday. The S&P fell -13 points (-0.74%), the Nasdaq dropped -30 points (-0.72%), and the Dow lost -153 points (-0.94%).Volume was weaker than Friday's volume, but the bears were clearly in control. The Decliners beat Advancers by 2 to 1, and the down volume outpaced up volume by 3 to 1.

Midday, the S&P and Nasdaq both rebounded to erase about 1/2 of the day's losses. The S&P closed midrange near its opening price, while the Nasdaq closed above its open. Both indices were able to close above their respective 50 EMAs. However, given that the market was recently at 14-year (Nasdaq) and all-time highs (S&P), the market's decline can be viewed as a possible rejection of the new highs.  

Investors are no doubt concerned over the Russian military's takeover of the Crimea. This is a destabilizing geopolitical situation and it raises concerns over a potential war with Ukrainian forces. Stocks around the world fell on Monday, and oil prices jumped, so any escalation of tensions in the Ukraine could derail the current bull market in the US. It is important to remind ourselves that things could get worse in the Ukraine, causing further problems for the world markets.

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