A Look at Friday’s Market: The overall market moved moderately lower on Friday in a broad based move that saw all the various sector indices I track move lower on the day. The weakest sectors were the High Tech, Commodities, Gold/Silver, Chemicals, Banking, Biotech, Broker/Dealers, and Cyclicals. Oil was lower by $1.17 to $98.67 per barrel, and Gold was lower by $15.90 to $1,725.30 per ounce. In the grain markets Wheat was lower by $0.16 to $6.30 per bushel, and Corn was lower by $0.052 to $6.316 per bushel, while Soybeans were higher by $0.014 to $12.29 per bushel. The primary catalyst for the move lower was the issues in Greece concerning the acceptance of the austerity measures needed to deal with the Greek financial crisis.
A Few Thoughts on Monday’s Market: In looking at the charts from Friday’s market I noticed that a pretty high number of the various sector indices I track appear to be turning negative. Also in looking at the stocks with the highest trading volume, the majority of those that are not moving sideways look weak with negative chart patterns. History has taught me that this generally precedes a turn lower by the market. My thoughts are that the recent move higher may be beginning to run out of steam. With respect to the Greek Financial Crisis, I just do not see the Greek people easily accepting the mandated reforms. I do not think the Greek Financial Crisis is over yet.
The Bottom Line: While I think the current market uptrend may continue a few days longer, I am concerned that it may be running out of steam.