Just Waiting

Top line: The stock market gave up some ground on Monday but the Dow didn't participate on the downside as much as the NASDAQ indexes. We continue to keep our eyes on the downside strength for clues on the future move. The bulls seem to be content to buy these little drops which is why we don't see a collapse in prices just yet. Currently, we are still thinking 12,500. World markets are quiet this evening with US Futures up slightly.

For a Monday with a lot of price movement down, we don't seem to have a lot to say. The basic pattern is still in tack but the downside strength seemed to wane a bit on Monday. True, the NASDAQ did seem to drop a little harder but the power down is not here right now. This is options expiration week so we don't think people are gone but trading is fairly light as it usually is just ahead of the holidays so traders may be happy to let things drift here.

The only thing that went on Monday was the big auction--TAF. We should hear on Tuesday how that went. Meanwhile the ECB was set to guarantee loans for European banks for unlimited amounts and to take them through the end of the year. This article seems to be a WSJ exclusive again so find out about it in Tuesday's Journal.

There doesn't seem to be much urgent news or pressing issues for the market to digest. The drop on Monday does come without news so it is worth noting. The prices are in a down pattern and could continue to drop. This would eventually bring out sellers. We continue to watch.

The gold market is in an interesting situation right now with the gold mining stocks dropping and the precious metal itself kind of holding its own. We generally say that the stocks move in front of the metal so maybe we will see a drop in the metal coming up. This market is always on our radar screen even though we don't mention it every night. There is an opportunity coming but it's not here just now.

FSI: 100.89 (The horsemen did take a hit on Monday)