Date: 06.24.07
Time: 05:35pm
Bears Seize Control Amidst Wild ActionGreetings Shark Investors:
The streak of 15 straight end-of-week closes for the S&P 500 was broken Friday in an almost surreal trading session marked by a
circus-like atmosphere surrounding the initial public offering of private equity firm Blackstone Group (BX), ongoing drama over the possible collapse of two Bear Sterns hedge funds, huge volume resulting mainly from the rebalancing of the Russell indices, and a cameo appearance on the floor of the NYSE by novelist Tom Wolfe (best known for his 1987 novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, which ironically focuses on the downfall of a Wall Street bond trader) who was looking for a woman in a white outfit.
This was the first time in quite a while where the market saw a big down day (Wednesday) followed by a bounce (Thursday), and then more downside follow-through (Friday). The pattern of this market since the lows of last summer has been for bounces to simply continue as bears (anxious to press their bets to the downside) get squeezed out, and underinvested bulls (fearful of being left out on further action to the upside) get sucked back in. Moreover, the selling during the session was on heavy volume and very poor breadth, and we saw absolutely [no? - A.L.] sign that market players were attempting to position themselves ahead of any expected acquisition news over the weekend.
This certainly demands our attention as we try to determine if this change in behavior in reaction to the recent weakness (which started with the sudden and unexpected spike in interest rates) is an indication that the market’s character may be changing. Although there are exceptions, these shifts are typically not driven by new events, but by changing moods and thinking about conditions which, up to the point when they start to matter, had been ignored or shrugged off. Sub-prime woes aren’t anything new, but now that we’ve seen confirmation that increasing foreclosures and delinquent payments are having an effect on the ability of the originators of mortgage-backed securities to meet their obligations, this issue has suddenly taken on a renewed significance.
Still, we need to remember that, not only are changes in the market’s character difficult to identify before or even when they are occurring (although they are painfully obvious in retrospect), but the bulls have shown time and time again their ability to charge back each time the market has appeared to be on the verge of some sustained action to the downside. Furthermore, even though there are some troubling aspects to the charts of the major indices (which we have been pointing to over the past few days), there has yet to be significant technical damage.
The bottom line, then, is that, while caution levels have been raised, the near-term outlook is highly uncertain. Many investors are dealing with these conditions by adopting shorter time-frames, and are maintaining their ability to move quickly in case there is continuing follow-through to the downside. With several pieces of economic data on the calendar for the coming week -- including the final reading on first quarter GDP, existing and new home sales, personal income and spending -- as well as a Federal Open Market Committee meeting -- there is plenty to keep market players on their toes.
Let’s go to the charts.
The Nasdaq opened Friday’s trading session lower and made steady progress downward as the day progressed on heavy volume. The semiconductors, which led Thursday’s bounce in the broader market, gave back a good chunk of those gains. Even though the action was poor, this index lost the least ground when compared to the Dow and S&P 500, and breadth (which was about 2:1 to the negative) was not as bad as it was on the NYSE (which was well over 3:1 to the negative)
The S&P 500 lost almost 1.2% on the day on heavy volume, closing near lows under its 50 day moving average, and breaking a 15 week streak of positive Friday closes. Each of the nine major S&P sectors finished the day well into the red, and a 1.27% loss in the financial sector (which accounts for 21% of this index’s weighting) really weighed on the action. Of the 500 stocks which comprise this index, only 53 traded higher.
Although the Russell 2000 also declined on the day, this index showed some relative strength, closing well off its lows. We spoke earlier in the week about how we were seeing some speculative activity in several small-caps, and this may have been influenced by the scheduled rebalancing of the Russell indices. Now that this has occurred, we will be watching to see if this action continues as we move forward.
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