The S&P 500 closed today at 1309, down well over 1%. The NASDAQ closed down nearly 2%.  In light of relative valuations and current global prospects for the past six months, the question begs an answer: Why?  Let’s begin with an overview of the results of the past week.

Stocks over Bonds, Small Caps over Large

by David Brown, Chief Market Strategist, Sabrient Systems

We’re going to start with what I do know – and then I’ll tell you what I don’t know.

The market continued to inch ahead today, with the S&P 500 taking another aim at the 18-month high of 1180 which it reached last Thursday before backing off a bit on Friday.  The only thing nudging the market forward seems to be the lack of anything really negative. The economic releases over the past week and today were either at or slightly above projections, and we seemed to have dodged the bullet on a couple of portentous events.

The market ended last week in a good mood, but is still struggling to gain enough traction for a sustained breakout beyond 1100 on the S&P500. The question in everyone’s mind:  Is it simply consolidating in preparation for a big Santa Claus rally? There are certainly plenty of market observers on both sides of the fence.