The Standard and Poors 500 index (SPX) closed today at 6260, down 21 points or -0.3%. SPX opened the week at 6259, essentially where it closed today. Trading volume was below the 50-day moving average (50 dma) and declining this week. 

VIX, the volatility index for the S&P 500 options, opened the week at 17.8% and declined all week, closing today at 16.34. The markets are nervous, but we are seeing the beginning of “risk on” behavior. 

I track the movement of the top 100 S&P 500 stocks ranked by beta, SPHB, to monitor the movement of high beta stocks. SPHB closed at 101.3 today, up 0.7% today and up 1.6% for the week. As you may see on the price chart, the high beta stocks have been steadily moving higher since early June, a strong bullish signal.

The NASDAQ Composite index closed today at 20,510, down 45 points or 
-0.2%. However, NASDAQ opened the week at 20,491, setting up a small weekly gain of +0.09%. NASDAQ’s trading volume tracked roughly sideways this week, above average two days and below average three days.

News and rumors from the Israel/Iran conflict, the Ukraine/Russia war, and the back-and-forth news about tariff negotiations kept price volatility rather high. Market prices have been choppy, but generally flat to bullish this week.

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ were essentially flat this week with losses of 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. The bullish news can be found in the high beta stocks of the S&P 500. That index, SPHB, has been steadily higher since early June.

We start the earnings announcement cycle next week and that may cause additional market volatility. Although most news on corporate earnings has been bullish so far, headlines and rumors could cause some ups and downs on a daily basis. I think the bulls are largely in charge, but uncertainty abounds and that results in nervous trigger fingers.