Pro Blog

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. 

← Back to ProTrend ProFiles

Market Pauses to Digest Tuesday's Gains

Charles Schaap -

On Wednesday, the market spent the entire day moving sideways. Price tested Tuesday's high in the morning session, but retreated and moved sideways the rest of the day. The results were mixed. 

The Nasdaq closed up 6 points (+0.14) while the S&P closed down less than a point (-0.01%). Both the Dow and the Russell 2000 closed slightly down. Volume was weaker than Tuesday's volume for the Nasdaq and S&P. The advance/decline ratio was about even, as was up/down volume.

Today was essentially a pause day, one without directional conviction. This is commonly seen after a big up day, when the market needs to digest the gains. Range for the day was narrow (only 5 S&P points), but the market closed in the upper range of Tuesday's price bar, and this tends to be a positive sign going forward.

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