TECH STOCKS LEAD MARKET LOWER
FOUR BIGGEST LOSERS... Four prominent technology stocks are falling heavily this morning. That's weighing on the technology sector and the market in general. All four are gapping lower on relatively heavy trading (and are on the most-active list). The charts pretty much speak for themselves -- and don't paint pretty pictures. Needless to say, if the stocks hold those losses through today's close, that would strengthen our view -- expresed last evening -- that the market has probably reached the top of its trading range.
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NASDAQ INDEXES SLIP UNDER SUPPORT... The Nasdaq 100 is the weakest of the major averages -- reflecting today's weakness in big tech stocks like Microsoft. The Nasdaq 100 and the Nasdaq Composite Indexes are both trading beneath their moving average lines. Closes below those lines would be a bad sign for the Nasdaq and the rest of the market.
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S&P 500 AND BOND YIELDS SLIPPING UNDER 50-DAY AVERAGES... The S&P 500 is slipping under its 50-day moving average and intial chart support at last week's intra-day low. That shows that tech weakness is infecting the rest of the market. [Heavier volume during the last two down days isn't good either]. The yield on the 10-year T-note is also breaking its 50-day line. Since bond yields and stock prices have been moving together, we take that as a short-term negative for stocks. Today's batch of weak economic reports is also hurting stocks and helping bonds. MORE LATER.
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