The Quant View: Chop, Chop... By David Brown | May 19, 2009
We saw lots of chop during options expiration week, and a retreat
from the sector that's been on a tear of late. Is it ready to resume
the uptrend? Today (Monday) was a pretty good day, to be sure, but
traders are wondering if it will continue.
Market sectors were down across the board last week, from -4% to
-8%, depending on whether you were in Large-cap Growth stocks (down
-4%) or a Small-cap Value stocks (down -8%), with everything else
falling in between. It was certainly a healthy retreat after a
persistent climb.
The worst sectors were Financials, which fell almost -10%, and
Energy and Industrials, losing -6.5% and 7%, respectively. Just keep in
mind that the Financial Sector had been up the most over the past
several months. The normal bastions of safety during weak markets -
Health Care and Consumer Staples - did the best for the week, down
-0.3% and 0.5%, respectively.
As has been the case for the past few weeks, economic data was
mixed last week. Retail sales data surprised negatively, as the small
increases in consumer spending in January and February did not carry
through to April. On the other hand, PPI and CPI were flat, which, of
course, is good, and industrial production was weak.
Continues...
The Quant View: Chop, Chop... By David Brown | May 19, 2009
www.sabrient.com/smart/qmaxx