Stocks have been bouncing for about 2 weeks from the falloff that started at the end of July. SPX is now back to 1986.5, just several points away from its new all-time high, which was set just a few days before the quick pullback in July. The Dow is almost touching 17,000 again. Nasdaq has risen above 4,500. However, China's latest manufacturing data showed some softness in August. Overnight, Asian markets were under pressure, although Japan did end higher.

Nevertheless, buyers still found stocks to push higher. SODA popped +4.79%. FFIV broke out in a big way this week, reaching above $122/share. NFLX looked to challenge its all-time high, closing above $472/share. QCOM bounced strongly yesterday; it has now recovered about 50% from its steep drop after the recent earnings. RL added another $2.33 (it has been a continuous run for more than 2 weeks), almost touching $170/share.

The Dow was up +59.54 points; SPX added +4.91 points; Nasdaq slipped 1.03 point:

Most sectors were flat. FDN (internet) and XME (metals and mining) slid slightly.

SPX

SPX added +4.91 points to close at 1986.51. Its daily MAs and MACD moved slightly up.

Nasdaq

Nasdaq was down 1.03 points to close at 4526.48. Its daily MAs and MACD also went higher.

I think at best the markets need to traverse sideways and consolidate around here. This bounce from the recent pullback has been very powerful. Two weeks down, two weeks up, and now we're back to visiting all-time highs. We have to be a little more careful here. Let's see if the markets can hold the levels here while things consolidate.

Good night and HappyTrading! ™

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