To: StockOperator who wrote (7624 ) 3/6/1999 2:14:00 PM From: StockOperator Read Replies (1) | Respond to
There has been a tremendous amount of cross-currents during this recent consolidation in the avgs. On the surface with market breadth deteriorating. And the tech wreck questioning the undeniable leadership from our Oct. bottom. This market has given the "appearance" of a pending meltdown in prices. With the media reporting on a daily basis the poor internals of the market. And the increase in the amount of puts to calls purchased in the last couple of weeks. This week's action has caught many on the wrong side of the fence. I think in this particular case it was the wide spread knowledge of the poor technicals of the market (by the masses) that was actually more important than the technicals themselves. Rarely does this unforgiving market give you the kind of lead time as well as telegraph its next move by information so widely reported. There were however definite signs that a breakout to the upside was highly probable. Despite the weakness in some of the indexes. The transports have not only held their own during this time, but have actually gained ground. Major money center banks were RISING, some breaking into new 52 wk highs on the backdrop of higher interest rates. Besides seeing a whole group of stocks breaking into record territory, MRK, WCOM and FDX just to name a few. But more importantly the fact that the longer term trends based on the observation of prices on their charts, were never violated. And in cases where they were, prices came back nicely.
