Well, the market still has its leader and boy did it not give damn today.  The Semiconductor index is still in the channel vs. S&P 500.  But that was a nasty in-day market reversal and is also why I have been recommending not trying to trade this middle ground chop in the markets with too much commitment.

The market is still trying to decide whether SPX 1975 (Resistance #1) or 2040 (Resistance #2) will be the bounce destination.  We laid these out over 2 weeks ago…SPX Enters Correction!

But it is a whole lot of wasted energy (and maybe capital) trying to place bets before the market breaks upside or downside parameters.  We are keeping watch on those, but as of now, the market is stuck in the mud of the middle ground.

Further, there are positive indicators like the above-noted leader and certain sentiment data, and negative indicators like two would-be bringers of renewed anxiety, the VIX and the Gold-Silver ratio (GSR), hitting our downside target zone today (VIX) and looking like a bullish consolidation (GSR).

Folks, if it’s a bear market there is going to be plenty of time to short into setups.  I did go back to my old easy to hold straight short on SPY, with no leverage.  But truthfully, the bull market is not yet negated and really neither is the bounce.  That’s just the way it is.  But today was not a good sign on balance for bulls.  ← Thanks Captain Obvious!