The markets opened weak this morning and traded steadily downward, although with many swings back and forth through the day. The SPX dropped $18 to close at $1074 and the RUT dropped $11 to close at $633. This was the fourth successive drop in RUT and SPX. Trading volume was up today; trading on the NYSE increased 11% and it increased 8% on NASDAQ. The S&P 500 stocks traded about 4.1 billion shares, still below the 50 dma, but up substantially from recent sessions.

The bearish mood on the street is evident from the reaction to the economic data released today. Initial unemployment claims decreased by 19k to 457k and continuing claims dropped 45k to 4.548 million. Durable goods orders fell 1.1% in May, which was less than predicted. NKE and BBBY met their earnings forecasts and BBY increased its dividend by 7%. There is nothing stellar about any of these reports, but it isn't terrible news either. Yet the markets continued to trade lower. Personally, I think the persistent negative, anti-business, and anti-capitalist drumbeat from Washington is wearing down the very individuals and institutions capable of building jobs and digging our economy out of this hole. But, I would welcome your dissent if you see it differently.

Now we wait and see if the indexes break through the lows set in early June; if so, then maybe a new bear market has begun.