The Standard and Poors 500 index (SPX) opened lower again this morning, influenced negatively by the jobs report and its possible effect on the FOMC meeting's deliberations week after next. Many market analysts are thinking the Fed may finally lower rates at the September meeting. SPX lost 21 points today, closing at 6482 for a 0.3% loss for the week. Trading volume continued to run below average this week until today's trading when volume just touched the 50 dma.

VIX, the volatility index for the S&P 500 options, opened the week at 16.7%, and declined all week to close at 15.2%. The institutional traders are moving to a tentative conclusion that the Fed will lower the discount rate at the September meeting (9/16-17). This is fueling the market’s move higher.

I track the movement of the ETF containing the top 100 S&P 500 stocks ranked by beta, SPHB, to monitor the movement of high beta stocks. SPHB closed at 105.3 today, up 0.4 points or +0.3%.  SPHB opened the week at 102.8 and posted a gain of 2.4% for the week. Trading volume ran along the 50 dma this week, until it rose slightly above the 50 dma today.

The NASDAQ Composite index closed at 21,700, down 7 points or 0.03%. NASDAQ opened today at a new all-time high but could not hold it into the 
close. NASDAQ opened the week at 21,087, up 2.9% for the week. Trading volume remained below average all week.

The overall market has slowly ground higher, pulling back every few days, but rebounding to gain a bit more ground. The gradual decline in VIX reflects that effect. However, the tariffs, political uncertainty, deportation of illegal immigrants, and the continuous noise of the professional protesters in the streets continue as background. 

It is surprising that the markets are ignoring the noise and steadily moving higher. The S&P 500 stocks set a new all-time high this week. NASDAQ set a new 
all-time high today but couldn’t hold it into the close. Similarly, the high beta stocks of the S&P 500 touched its previous all-time high today but pulled back slightly.

I cannot remember a time when the financial news carried so much speculation about the FOMC’s next meeting this far in advance. Normally, it appears on traders’ radar the week before the meeting.

The basic economic data remain positive, but the choppiness will likely continue until after the FOMC announcement on 9/17. Stay calm and stick to your trading rules.