Midday Market Check - The Dow Jones Industrial Average Hugs the Breakeven Line

We head into the second half of the session with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) hugging the breakeven line. An initial dip of nearly 70 points was followed by a bounce. However, the push into positive territory failed at a gain of 38 points and the action since then has been sideways drift. The S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (COMP) are also flat while the Russell 2000 (RUT) shows a small loss.

Today's strongest groups are the Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI), S&P Retail Index (RLX), and Dow Jones Transport Index (.TRAN). The US Oil Fund (USO), Oil Service HOLDRS (OIH), and Natural Gas Index (XNG) are the weakest areas.

I ended yesterday's session noting that the Russell 2000 (RUT) was pushing into overhead resistance. The lackluster action here means nothing has changed on that front. Even with that though, the week is shaping up as a positive one. As they stand now, the broad market indexes are showing gains in the neighborhood of 3% on the week. I will follow up after the close with the final figures and usual assortment of graphs.

Chart Courtesy of Thomson Reuters

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