Retail sales data, rumors about progress on China trade and Trump on the verge of declaring the southern border a national emergency, kept the market in a trading range. There was some impressive dip buying early on the day following the retail news but then it was choppy action as market players tried to figure out what is going to happen next.
For the third day in a row there was selling pressure in the final hour. Previously there was a run of about 15 days of strength in the final hour, so this is a change in character but isn't anything substantial so far.
The biggest positive today was breadth which run about 4,000 gainers to 3,200 decliners after a negative start to the day. Market players are still trying to put money to work but they aren't chasing the well-known big caps. They are looking harder at secondary names. A good example today is Pivotal Software (PVTL) which broke out of a short consolidation range.
The bears are growing louder every day about how the economy is slowing and market momentum is slowing. There still is no confirmation of the pessimism but you can't help but wonder if it will be self-fulfilling at some point.
The big picture may be murky but there continues to be some good trading and that is the important thing. Manage those trades tightly but don't be in a hurry to bet against this market.
Have a good evening. I'll see you tomorrow.
