The market is doing the best it can to stay above 8,000 on the DOW and 800 on the S&P 500. The regional banks took it on the chin Monday, but the continued weakness in the financial sector was unable to sink stocks yesterday. We are simply not going to see leadership from this group soon, so the market will have to take its cues from another sector.
Could the energy sector start to lead again? The price of crude oil has halted its prolonged decline and has been trading near the $40 level for weeks. A floor may finally be in place (though that doesn’t mean crude will start moving higher, either). This may be why names like RIG, NOV and SLB are now steadily moving sideways.
Technology is trying to pull the market higher. Over the past 10 days, the NDX has doubled the pace of the DOW and S&P 500. RIMM and GOOG are the best performing names at the moment – and AAPL may soon join them.
Friday’s jobs number will be in focus as will earnings announcements. Weakness should continue to permeate throughout economy.
