It was an ugly day today (unless you were short) which took the S&P back under its 200-day moving average and the Dow beneath its 50-day moving average. All of a sudden the Dow is looking like the worst of the major indices, taking over that title from the Naz.
Rising oil prices are getting part of the blame for the sell-off in stocks but the market, in my opinion, has been ready for a dip. Part of the blame has to go to disappointing earnings & guidance/warnings too. Yes, it’s warnings season again already.
I think there are a lot of mixed messages out there. Enough companies are reporting excellent earnings (like the companies hitting those new all-time highs) to keep the bulls hoping that a pre-election rally can continue… But I fully agree, today’s sell-off was an ugly turn. (Amazing how the market can position itself into critical technical junctures right at the moment of important events!) Dow Theory says more pain ahead since the new 52-week highs in the Transports has officially been non-confirmed by the Dow turning back hard from that upper downtrend line. Yikes!