Uncertainty was the word of the day on Tuesday as the markets see-sawed (see chart from Marketwatch.com). However, after the drubbing of last week, momentum picked up late in the session supported by a drop in oil prices and an unexpected gain in new home sales.
On the other hand, continued lower consumer confidence figures kept a lid on advances. I suspect that some further sideways action will dictate trading in the near future until some catalyst can propel the major indexes higher again. In the absence of such a catalyst, we may be treading water for a while longer. Here’s how our Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs) fared yesterday:
Domestic TTI: +1.09%
International TTI: -3.20%
Domestically, we’ve slipped back into the neutral zone and will hold our positions subject to our trailing sell stop points.
With energy prices being on the front burner, despite today’s pullback, I have added a position in that area last week, along with gold, which broke out to the upside but retreated today.