The Merchant of Venice

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William Shakespeare Act Two, Scene Two

Ok, show of hands, how many of you started to think about the word “rigged” again watching the market and your equity go up and down faster than you can say “sacrificial lamb?”

Is the market rigged or merely a reflection of the new worldwhere information travels in nanoseconds, folks have easy access to that information and with a simple click of a button can buy and sell confounded by a collective psychology where one minute investors are freaked out over deflation, the next minute about war, the following minute about rates and in the final minutes-who cares about anything; F*#$ it, let’s just BUY!

Reviewing the technical roadmap and trying to keep a level head, the week ended with indecision with a hint of bullishness along with the usual diversion between the small caps and the other indices.

S&P 500 managed to claw its way back over the 50 DMA for a return to an unconfirmed bullish phase. Of course, the Dow, which never broke the 50 DMA, closed squished between that and the 10 DMA. TheIWM held 110 like its life depended on it-which it does incidentally- and closed relatively unimpressively with an inside day-albeit green.

SPY, DIA, QQQ and IWM had inside days. That’s almost humorous as this market relentlessly teased the bulls and bears last week and begins this week equally indecisive. Reminds me of Lancelot in Merchant of Venice as he ponders, should I stay or should I go?

S&P 500 (SPY) Eked over the 50 DMA and with the inside day, has to clear last Thursday’s high 199.05 to look better

Russell 2000 (IWM) Oh sweet 110 of life how much I love thee-for now anyway. Inside day-has to clear 11.83 at least

Dow (DIA) Compressed between the fast and the furious 50 DMA

Nasdaq (QQQ) Cleared an important level at 98.05. Now that has to hold and next place to clear is 99.20

XLF (Financials) Express train to the 50 DMA on Thursday, the local train to R1 on Friday. Inside day as well.

KRE (Regional Banks) Inside day and red-oops-precursor?

SMH (Semiconductors) Squeezed between the 50 and the 10 DMAs with an inside day

IBB (Biotechnology) As several ETFs sold off into the close from their Friday highs, this sat at its intraday high just under the pivots and looks great if gaps higher on Monday.

XRT (Retail) This confirmed the warning phase-that’s not good

IYR (Real Estate) Possible reversal candle over the 200 DMA-like that

GLD Reversal candle Thursday, inside day Friday-I’d say classic indigestion.

OIH (Oil Services) Trying for another bottom maybe

XLE (Energy) Trying for another bottom maybe-only this is right at the 200 DMA

TBT (Ultrashort Lehman 20+ Year Treasuries) TLTs confirmed back to a bullish phase

UUP (Dollar Bull) Rocket job over the monthly moving average

FXI (China Large Cap Fund) Holding the July lows