Summary
Tuesday was another difficult day for some of the largest stock-market winners from 2024, as the Nasdaq and the S&P 100 (OEX) fell 0.2%, the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) declined 0.1%, and the Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 (XLG) fell 0.4%. On the other side of the fence, the NYSE Composite popped 0.7%, the S&P MidCap 400 (MDY) added 1.2%, and the S&P SmallCap 600 rose 1.4% (after testing its flat 200-day average on Monday). While early, these secondary indices appear to be trying to trace out short-term bottoms, while the mega-caps continue to hit pullback lows. While we would like to say that the coast is clear for small-cap and mid-cap stocks and indices, it likely is too early. If we were to lean in one direction, we would go with the best-looking chart — and that would be from the mid-caps. MDY is less than 7% from its November 25 all-time closing high; the daily vortex indicator is about to go bullish; the daily moving-average convergence/divergence (MACD) is in negative territory but has turned higher; the five-day/13-day exponential moving average (EMA) crossover is close to turning bullish for the first time since early November 2024; the ETF remains above its 200-day and 40-week simple averages; and mid-caps are seeing some relative stren
