Friends,

Stocks were mixed today, but after some early strength it felt like the bulls simply ran out of gas. The Dow continues to post a record high on a daily basis, but the choppiness in tech stocks has continued to cause choppiness in the S&P and Nasdaq. On the economic front the retail sales number was disappointing, and holiday sales didn’t impress. That coupled with continued labor tightness should feed an easing monetary Fed policy narrative moving forward.

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 52 points to finish the day at 50,188. The S&P 500 was down 23 points to close at 6,941. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 136 points to close at 23,102. Gold was down $20 to trade at $5,059 per ounce, while oil was down $.28 to trade at $64.08 per barrel WTI.

Sentiment seems to be pretty nonchalant with regards to risk at the moment. There might be good reasons for that, but I am a little concerned with the confidence the bulls appear to have. I’m just a worrier. Let’s see how this week continues to play out.

Have a nice evening everyone.