The bears finally gained a little traction today but the action reminded me of something that I have written in the past -- bad markets don't scare you out, they wear you out.
A sharp drop on big volume would be much more interesting from a trading standpoint than this slow dip lower that we have been watching lately. There isn't any panic or even that much bearishness. There is mostly a lack of interest and that makes for very tedious trading.
The indices managed a slight uptick in the closing minutes but it as a steady decline most of the day. Breadth was 2,650 gainers to 4,400 decliners and the number of new 12-month lows exceeded the number of new 12-month highs. There really wasn't any place to hide today. The FAANG names in particular were weak and Apple ( AAPL) weighed heavily on the indices.
Overall the action today didn't do much to change the big picture. The indices are still in an uptrend and the underlying action is still quite mixed. It would probably be better if we had a bigger drop that helped to trigger more negativity but that sore ot negative sentiment shift just doesn't happen easily.
There is little choice right now but to stay patient and see if the bears can gain a little more momentum. The bears seem to have last the ability to deliver real corrective action but that doesn't relieve us of the obligation to be ready just in case.
This is not good action but it's the sort of dreary action that will wear you out over time rather than scare you out suddenly. The likelihood is that it will continue in this manner and leave those who are hoping for a quicker downside frustrated.
Have a good evening. I'll see you tomorrow.
