A small gap higher started the trading day, but the market is now drifting with a slightly negative bias. Apple (AAPL) has gone from green to red, but breadth is still decent with 2850 gainers to 2200 decliners. It isn't bad action, but there isn't much aggression in either direction.
One thing this market has been missing lately is good trading themes, so it is refreshing to see a group like solar energy heating up. There's also interest in coal and homebuilders, but no wild chasing.
The politicians continue to negotiate the fiscal cliff in the headlines, which isn't helpful but isn't having much impact, either. I suspect Ben Bernanke will offer some comments later today about how important it is that a deal is made. That won't have much effect, but it will ensure that the issue is the main market driver for the next few weeks.
I've been a net seller this morning, mainly because I'm not finding anything new to buy. I wouldn't be surprised to see upside on the Fed announcements, but I may have to trade it with index options since I have so few individual stocks of interest on my radar. I'd almost prefer to see a selloff on the Fed news just to set up new trades, but it looks like underlying support will prevent much downside.
