It is dreary and slow here on Monday morning, with breadth running around two to one negative. What is most notable is that there are no pockets of momentum. At this writing, only three stocks are trading up more than 10%.
The one bright spot is a bounce in Apple (AAPL) due to reports that the launch of its latest iPhone looks better than expected, but I can't remember any Apple launch that was not initially better than expected. This time, expectations were the lowest in years, so there is some relief that it is not a dud.
Outside Apple, which is a holding of the Action Alerts PLUS portfolio, it's very mixed action, with Tesla (TSLA) and Nvidia (NVDA) weighing on the Nasdaq 100 while continued strength in oil and energy helps to offset some weakness.
The problem is that everyone is aware that this is typically a poor week for the market. There isn't any reason to jump in and take advantage of lower prices right now, especially with the Fed interest rate decision on Wednesday looming. If the selling was more aggressive and there was panic in the air, then we could look for a rebound trade, but there isn't enough selling pressure to create conditions for a snapback rally.
The bad news is that the market isn't poor enough to create conditions for a bounce. There are quite a few stocks that I'm interested in buying when market conditions are better, but that isn't happening right now. The selling is not intense enough and the dip buyers are extremely short term.
The best approach right now is to identify stocks you like and track them. There is no reason to buy right now, but if you have a shopping list then you'll be prepared to move quickly when conditions do change. Unfortunately, we may need to wait for the Fed decision on Wednesday before we can do anything.
(AAPL is a holding of Action Alerts PLUS. Want to be alerted before the portfolio buys or sells these stocks? Learn more now.)
