Global Recession Fears Drag Down Markets

The markets had another ugly day, no other way to put it. Volume on the NYSE was not that heavy, so it was not the same level of panic selling that we saw a couple of weeks ago. But there certainly were not enough buyers willing to step up, and that is why the market continued to slide in the last 2 hours.

There were a couple of rumors swirling today: one was that a large hedge fund of funds was liquidating; the other was that a large quantitative hedge fund was also selling today. If true, that would account for the selling pressure in the market.

The ARMS Index closed a 5.0, which could be the highest closing level this year (I'm not 100% sure), and highlights the selling pressure.

The S&P 500 closed at its lowest level this year, although it has been lower twice on an intraday basis. If you look at the chart above, you can see that today's lower is actually the 3rd higher low in the last couple of weeks. If this pattern holds, it could be construed bullishly. Notice I said "IF".

They say its always darkest before the dawn. I'm surprised the sun is still out here in LA.