If you have been trying to predict what this market is going to do next based on political and economic news, you probably have had little success. The headlines simply have not mattered. It makes sense that things that impact the economic health of the country would have some impact on the stock market, but there doesn't seem to be any correlation at this time.
Once again, the indices are trading very close to flat. Breadth has moved into positive territory, as small-caps outperform like they did last Friday. The big-caps are lagging a bit, but it isn't anything significant. It is just another day of very slow action with little movement. What is remarkable is that it has continued for so long.
When the market trades in such a tight range for so long, the natural inclination of most people is to try to guess what happens next. There isn't any strong trend to play -- and that is usually what triggers the strongest action. There is nothing to react to right now, so if you want to make some big bets you must anticipate.
Like many other traders, I am anxious to do more, but there just aren't many new setups developing. There is good follow-through in some names I've mentioned, like Lantheus (LNTH) , Nova Measuring (NVMI) , Ichor Holding (ICHR) and Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) , so there is no reason to be negative -- but you do have to wonder how the recent action will resolve itself. The bears are ready with plenty of great arguments and the bulls are as unconcerned as ever, but the price action can't make up its mind.
