Concern about next week’s Presidential address to Congress, restlessness about tax reform, some crummy earnings across the pond, and general uneasiness about what to expect regarding the purportedly “massive” tax reform have combined to put traders on their heels in the early going on this fine Friday morning.

However, it is worth noting that dip buyers have been extremely active each and every time the stock market has declined – even on an intraday basis. As such, any change in investors’ appetites to put money to work into any/all pullbacks could be a sign that the long-awaited correction may be ready to roll.

While we view the intraday action to be largely noise from a big-picture standpoint, it very well could be important at this stage of the game in terms of a “tell” regarding the near-term direction. But given the overbought condition and the extent of the current run, no one should be surprised by a run-of-the-mill counter-trend move somewhere in here.

Thought For The Day:

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” — Wayne Gretsky

Current Market Drivers

We strive to identify the driving forces behind the market action on a daily basis. The thinking is that if we can both identify and understand why stocks are doing what they are doing on a short-term basis; we are not likely to be surprised/blind-sided by a big move. Listed below are what we believe to be the driving forces of the current market (Listed in order of importance).

    1. The State of Trump Administration Policies

    2. The State of the U.S. Economy

    3. The State of Global Central Bank Policies