November closes out on a sour note despite gains for the month. Volume soared as end of the month rebalancing flooded the final hour of trading. Facebook (FB), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX), and Google (GOOGL) weighed down the Nasdaq 100 closing lower by 1.28%. The Nasdaq closed with a loss of 1.05%. Crude oil jumped nearly 10% to $49 a barrel after news of an OPEC supply cut hit the news wires. Consequently, the S&P Energy sector was up 4.8%. On the downside, Utilities were whacked hard as the sector was down more than 3% on the session. We were expecting choppy trade and choppy trading we are getting. This type of action will begin to weed out losers and allow winners to rise. It is our mission to get onboard the leading stocks.

One negative and potential threat to this rally is certain the FAANG stocks. Their sheer size will drive the market and if they continue to act weak expect the Nasdaq to lag on the upside or lead to the downside. Either way, the action we are seeing is not too promising. We would love for this to change. However, we cannot wish this market in the direction we want. For now, they are having a terrible time and if we do not see this change look for the Nasdaq to take a back seat to the Dow and S&P 500.

A 15 day win streak is nothing short of amazing, but now for the 3rd straight day the Russell 2000 has closed lower. The index broke through its 10 day moving average today, but remains within striking distance of its all-time highs. We do expect this consolidation period to carry on a bit further. No telling how long or deep it will last. One thing we do know such big win streaks typically lead to higher prices over time. Remain patient is a prudent move and allow the market to reveal the leading stocks.