Stocks Split, NASDAQ Gains, Dow Flat

There is a definite surreal feel to stocks these early days of summer. While the NASDAQ has generally been the whipping boy through the latter stages of June and into July, the reverse was true on Wednesday as traders returned from a truncated long weekend.

The NASDAQ tacked on 40 points, but the other broad measure, the NYSE Composite, fell 26. The Dow was off by one point, while the S&P added three-and-a-half.

While this appears to be sector rotation and stock picking, the unruly movements may portend something more sinister in the near future. It could be nothing, but split decisions on the major indices usually indicate market turmoil, not the calm, placid environment with low VIX which has been a feature of the long bull run since March of 2009.

The VIX has been elevated of late and spiked recently, but hovering around the 11-12 region is nothing alarming. Should the VIX begin to rise day-over-day, worries may emerge and turn reluctant buyers into outright sellers.

Whatever the financial pundits insist about the strength of the economy, there are troubles, as indicated by the FOMC minutes from June which were released on Wednesday. The members were split over inflation and increases in the federal funds rate, a strong indication that the Fed - which has been relied upon excessively to control the economy - may not have the tools with which to battle a recessionary environment, which many believe is overdue.

In any case, this shortened week may not be enough to develop any kind of trend, other than extending the weird trading patterns which are becoming more and more confounding to fundamental analysts.

At the Close, 7/5/17:
Dow: 21,478.17, -1.10 (-0.01%)
NASDAQ: 6,150.86, +40.80 (0.67%)
S&P 500: 2,432.54, +3.53 (0.15%)
NYSE Composite: 11,809.49, -26.23 (-0.22%)