Summary

Talk about an undecided market. As of the close on Monday, October 7, in four of the past five days, the closing range of the S&P 500 (SPX) was 13.6 points. That is two-tenths of 1% based on the price of the index. For the Nasdaq, the range in four out of five days was 14.76 points or eight one-hundredths of 1%. The Nasdaq 100’s (QQQ) range was 0.83 points or two-tenths of 1%. The Nasdaq and the QQQ tested their 21-day exponential a few times and remain perilously close to breaking that average, while the SPX has come close to the average on several occasions intraday. Third-quarter EPS season is now underway and the next three weeks will be very heavy with earnings reports. Just prior to and just after earnings reports, companies are in a blackout period. During that time, a company cannot repurchase its stock. So in April/early May, July/early August, October/early November, and January/early February, there is an absence of demand that can create weakness in the overall market. First-quarter 2024 share buybacks on the S&P 500 were $237 billion and for the 12-months ending March 2024, buybacks were $817 billion. C