After a respite on Friday, stocks are back to acting poorly again. The main issue isn't aggressive selling but a lack of buying interest. Breadth is sinking and is now around two to one negative as an early bounce failed to materialize.
The primary problem I see is a continued lack of interest in stock-picking. Market players are focused on rotational action, and the indices and the individual merits of stocks -- especially small-caps and growth names -- just don't matter. Many stocks are being sold into a lack of bids, which makes the technical action much worse.
The most important thing to focus on right now are your time frames. If you are looking for quick bounces, you have to be trading for very small gains and have tight stops. If you are looking to build some longer-term positions, there is no rush. The time to add to favorites is when they are acting stronger, rather than breaking support levels.
I'm doing very little right now other than taking a few stops and waiting for some indications that support may start to build.
The reflexive bounces we have seen recently have mostly been traps, and that is causing some worry and despair. There was some hope that the market would build on Friday's bounce, but that is not happening so far.
Bad markets will wear you out, and this one is doing a nice job of it right now.
