QUOTE]Quote from super-ego:
Sentiment is as bearish as I've ever seen it. Shorts who thought 1180 SPX was a gimme are trapped. Many stocks that have had decent breaks (GE, CSCO) are large enough Index components that if they have even MODEST bounces off their lows they will POWER this stuff to new highs.
Oil was POUNDED yesterday after the close and it seems that a near term top may be in. Back month Gasoline is still priced under two bucks a gallon. Four year lows in unemployment, a perma bid below because of good 2nd quarter reported earnings, I see NOTHING that can stop this stuff before November. [/QUOTE]
bearish sentiment at a top is very different then bearish sentiment at a bottom --- cpi/ppi are going to do nothing but curve up in trend, corporate earnings will at best be static for a few months and what the fed does next will make a big difference in the mindset of those that now "expect" the fed to be done. this does not even include going forward retail sales and consumer confidence numbers {which just got whacked this week and upcoming numbers will show this}. then we have numerous major companies with some extensive fundamentals problems {us automakers, airlines, and anyone that has a lot of shipping/transportation costs in their products}. there will be thinning margins with many companies and this will hurt earnings and thus P/E ratio's.
there is a lot of resistance above our current price levels and it will take some major sentiment shifts to get through this -- i personally do not see anything on the horizon that will propel sentiment forward. if anything we have high current index levels that have a lot of tension building up for downside movement potential. all this liquidity pumping in for something {continued rally} that may not take place will magnify the effect of our current downward tension once the collective sentiment is triggered into selling.
which ever way this upcoming move breakouts, it will be extremely forceful in my opinion. we have all seen what happens when a once trusted levee breaks.