Recently, it has been trading near the upper end of this range, but has repeatedly failed to surpass the previous interim high and is still another 1400-1500 points away from January's all-time high of 26,616.71.
The range, 23,924.98 - 25,335.74, has been wide enough to offer hope to both bulls and bears, though neither a breakout nor a breakdown has occurred, with much of the betting money on the latter. Current and prior sentiment sees a second half slowdown, with the Trump tax cuts already measured in, inflation becoming more of an issue, and the tariff tug-fo-war on the world stage only in the early stages.
Thus, seasoned investors are wary of sudden impulse moves such as today's and also have an eye toward the political spectrum, midterm elections and what now appears to be a runaway federal budget-busting deficit for the current fiscal year. These are the factors contributing to the skeptical view, while the more subdued bull case rests largely on the employment picture. Americans are well-employed at present, even though labor force participation remains near record lows.
Inside the demographics of the United States, there exists a virtuous cycle, in which retiring baby boomers give up jobs to millennials and Generation Xers, while spending their retirement incomes without a care. There's plenty of money to go around, though, with a country as large and diverse as the US, it's difficult to pigeonhole any particular stocks that should benefit the greatest.
Consumer staples are and have been the safest bets along with energy, tech, and basic materials, but the gains have been paltry outside the smoking tech sector. A diversified portfolio is probably the best insurance against a market rout, but being in the right stocks can prove tricky, if not altogether impossible to attain anything better than the average index fund.
On the day, the Dow and NASDAQ diverged, a sign that everything is not in sync, and that issues remain unresolved, though that is a normal case and not anything about which to be overly pessimistic.
With crosswinds at the crossroads of prosperity and desperation, there's more than ample rationale for either argument.
This remains a sit-tight-and-hold-cash condition.
Dow Jones Industrial Average July Scorecard:
| Date | Close | Gain/Loss | Cum. G/L |
| 7/2/18 | 24,307.18 | +35.77 | +35.77 |
| 7/3/18 | 24,174.82 | -132.36 | -96.59 |
| 7/5/18 | 24,345.44 | +181.92 | +85.33 |
| 7/6/18 | 24,456.48 | +99.74 | +185.07 |
| 7/9/18 | 24,776.59 | +320.11 | +505.18 |
| 7/10/18 | 24,919.66 | +143.07 | +648.25 |
| 7/11/18 | 24,700.45 | -219.21 | +429.04 |
| 7/12/18 | 24,924.89 | +224.44 | +653.48 |
| 7/13/18 | 25,019.41 | +94.52 | +748.00 |
| 7/16/18 | 25,064.36 | +44.95 | +792.95 |
| 7/17/18 | 25,119.89 | +55.53 | +848.48 |
| 7/18/18 | 25,199.29 | +79.40 | +927.88 |
| 7/19/18 | 25,064.50 | -134.79 | +793.09 |
| 7/20/18 | 25,058.12 | -6.38 | +786.71 |
| 7/23/18 | 25,044.29 | -13.83 | +772.88 |
| 7/24/18 | 25,241.94 | +197.65 | +970.53 |
At the Close, Tuesday, July 24, 2018:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 25,241.94, +197.65 (+0.79%)
NASDAQ: 7,840.77, -1.10 (-0.01%)
S&P 500: 2,820.40, +13.42 (+0.48%)
NYSE Composite: 12,847.49, +53.44 (+0.42%)
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