Weak Close Not All That Bad

The market faded in the afternoon and basically closed at its lows for the day. But the declines were only -0.1%, so it was more of a consolidation day. Volume ran below average on both exchanges, so no distribution.

Breadth wasn't as bad. Advancers beat out decliners on both exchanges, and the Hi/Lo indexes were solid.

Semis led the way (+0.7%), followed by brokers (+0.4%). Energy was by far the weakest sector (-1.4%) along with retail (-0.6%).

Many growth stocks traded fairly heavy today, but they did not break down entirely. The market has bent on several occasions, only to quickly regain its footing. As such, I still believe its more likely that the market continues higher in this stair-step fashion.