FAST MARKET - 7/31/08

The S&P got close to unchanged for the month but could not break it. The blame goes to a bad Jobless Claims number.

Today should have been an UP day, but the news trumps the pattern.

Going into tomorrow's NFP number, we are at risk of another breakdown.

We must watch the lows of 1265 and see if they hold.

I tried to play a bounce today, buying 1271.50 and getting stopped out at 1273.50. I could have dumped it for a 10 pt gain, but held on as I thought we would get a rally into the close.

As you can see, the analog of 4/17 did not hold up. This is a BEARISH sign.