Market Stages Key Intraday Reversal

Today, the market advanced off the opening in what appeared like a breakout day. The Nasdaq had finally broken above the March high and surpassed it by +28 points. Over the noon hour, everything changed. 

The market began to sell off around 1:00 p.m., and the Nasdaq plummeted -49 points off its highs of the day to close down -18 points (-0.42%). The S&P 500 slipped -12 points (-0.64%), and the Dow fell -119 points (-0.70%). Volume was above average for all three indices.

Declining stocks led advancing stocks by a 5-to-3 ratio. Down volume outpaced up volume by a 7-to-2 margin. Market breath, which hit a high of +1,190 in the morning, closed the day at -710.

Economic reports were generally positive but were overshadowed by news out of Iraq. There was a report that a Syrian fighter jet attacked targets in Iraq. Today's sell off bean soon after. If investors were looking for a reason to take profits, they apparently found one. The uptrend is still intact, but further weakness would raise retracement risk back to the 20 EMA or 50 EMA.

Two things happened today which are worth noting. As mentioned previously, there was momentum divergence between the 9 June high and the last market high. The Nasdaq attempted to breakout and was rejected, falling back to the 9 June swing high. The S&P's decline fell below the prior 9 June swing high. If support slips away, the market will be susceptible to selling pressure.