• The markets got beat up today.  Here are the highlights from IBD.

The market’s correction deepened Thursday as worries spread about the debt-burdened economies of Portugal, Greece and Spain. Stocks also suffered from a disappointing jobs report, while ignoring better-than-expected news on factory orders and productivity. The NYSE composite careened 3.6% lower, the S&P 500 3.1%, the Nasdaq 3.0% and the Dow 2.6% Volume was up across the board

• Right now the selling is leaving no stone unturned.  They are going after all sectors (oil, gold, commodities, financials, healthcare, and technology)  Here is a snapshot of how all the stocks in the S&P500 fared today.
• Only 33% of NASDAQ stocks are above their 50 day moving average right now, and only 52% are above their 200 day moving average.  This means slim picking for stocks to buy right now.  I will re-iterate some one my comments from Tuesday.

I prefer indices/stock that live above their 50 day moving averages.  This is the reason I am on the sidelines right now.

I would point out the volume patterns of late.  Big volume down days with light volume up days.

The former leaders of this market still have broken charts.  I think we still need more time for repair, but charts will set-up in the future.  The best position right now is cash.

• It looks as if the major indices want to test the 200 day moving average.  That would mean approximately a 500 point decline in the DJIA, 100 points in the NASDAQ, and 50 points in the S&P500.  Obviously, I do not think this will happen in one day, but the market feels very heavy right now.  The 200 day moving average would be the next major support level.
• All eyes will be on the jobs number tomorrow morning.  Let’s see how the market reacts to this number.  Here is a preview from yesterday’s post.

Happy hunting!