Morning Commentary
The market continues to edge higher with the three major equity indices in the plus column for 2020.
On Friday, the session ended with a big belly flop by Amazon (AMZN), which slipped in scuttlebutt Prime Day was a dud. Retail insiders and Wall Street analysts all agreed that this was the perfect time and place for the two-day event. Perhaps there was too much consensus and cheerleading. The stock also formed a double top, which is the most accurate (bearish) chart formation.
AMZN

Message of the Market
It was a bookend week that saw the market rise on Monday and Friday, but each session had its share of anxiety. There were times it zigged when you thought it would zag and rebounded when it was on the cusp of falling apart and falling apart when it was on the cusp of breaking out. There was a compelling pullback in tech going into the close, as Apple (AAPL) lost altitude, but money went to other sectors instead of the sidelines.
|
S&P 500 Index |
+0.01% |
|
|
Communication Services XLC |
+0.02% |
|
|
Consumer Discretionary XLY |
-0.91% |
|
|
Consumer Staples XLP |
+0.03% |
|
|
Energy XLE |
-2.27% |
|
|
Financials XLF |
+0.08% |
|
|
Health Care XLV |
+0.99% |
|
|
Industrials XLI |
+0.73% |
|
|
Materials XLB |
+0.70% |
|
|
Real Estate XLRE |
-0.36% |
|
|
Technology XLK |
-0.29% |
|
|
Utilities XLU |
+1.07% |
For the week, there were substantially more losers than winners although up volume suggests the intensity of buyers was more significant.
There are still more losers than winners in the S&P 500, and those losers are down a lot more than the winners. This fact is, attractive to many investors is the lingering question of when will the broadening of the rally speed up? Or what will get the broadening to speed up?
|
Week Breadth |
NYSE |
NASDAQ |
|
Advancing |
1,141 |
1,629 |
|
Declining |
1,987 |
1,981 |
|
52 Week High |
308 |
389 |
|
52 Week Low |
60 |
82 |
|
Up Volume |
9.9 billion |
8.9 billion |
|
Down Volume |
9.4 billion |
8.1 billion |
S&P 500 Winners
S&P 500 Losers
Hotline Model Portfolio Approach
Today’s Session
Equity futures are higher, but there is a long week ahead with an uptick in earnings releases and the Presidential debate on Thursday.
I like the action in transportation names. Keep an eye on those stocks, and semiconductors, which got a bunch of upgrades at Mizuho.
| Tweet |
| 12/17/2025 1:23 PM | Technology Slides |
| 12/17/2025 9:40 AM | SPRING LOADED |
| 12/16/2025 1:44 PM | Drifting Lower |
| 12/16/2025 9:41 AM | JOBS DATA ARRIVES (FINALLY!) |
| 12/15/2025 1:27 PM | Choppy Action |
| 12/15/2025 9:38 AM | LOOKING FOR A NUDGE |
| 12/12/2025 1:29 PM | Friday Fury |
| 12/12/2025 9:45 AM | DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR? |
| 12/11/2025 1:41 PM | Buyers Emerged |
| 12/11/2025 9:34 AM | THE GRINCH WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS |
| 12/10/2025 1:30 PM | The Street Awaits Fed’s Decision |
| 12/10/2025 9:41 AM | POWELL TAKES CENTER STAGE |
| 12/9/2025 1:27 PM | Fed on Deck |
| 12/9/2025 9:31 AM | NVDA GETS THE GREEN LIGHT |
| 12/8/2025 1:35 PM | Fed Week Jitters |
| 12/8/2025 9:41 AM | HIGH BETA GOES HIGHER |
| 12/5/2025 1:31 PM | PCE Inflation Cools |
| 12/5/2025 9:41 AM | THEME STOCKS LOOK FOR SECOND 2025 ACT |
| 12/4/2025 1:35 PM | Muted Action |
| 12/4/2025 9:43 AM | UPWARD BIAS ON HOPES FOR FRIENDLY FED |
| 12/3/2025 1:29 PM | Recovering from Early Drop |
| 12/3/2025 9:43 AM | TRYPTOPHANE KICKS IN LATE |
| 12/2/2025 1:31 PM | Intraday Bounce |
| 12/2/2025 9:41 AM | THE STREAK IS LONG IN THE TOOTH |
| 12/1/2025 1:30 PM | Markets Start on a Softer Note |
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