A Few Ideas on Why the S&P 500 Has Held-Up So Well

Recently, it has seemed like the market was looking for a reason to go up. Bad news was taken as a buying opportunity.

There was a change in market sentiment last week. The market finally found reasons to sell-off.

The move down was relatively minor and quite orderly. The S&P 500 is sitting comfortably in a support zone. The following chart shows that the move down did not come with panic selling and volume remained light.

 

The move back to support burned-off some of the excess exuberance. So, on the next push down, let's see if sellers get another bear trap sprung on them with a pop higher.

As I've said before, recently, if selling opportunities don't tempt sellers ... Then the market will simply get pushed higher again.

Remember, a trend is in force until it's reversed.  The broad equity indices are still behaving remarkably well. It could be a meaningful sign, or it could simply be a sign that there's a lot of money on the sidelines or in other markets.

For example, last week was anything but orderly in the silver market.