Zarrar,
Thank you for the question, I'll try my best to answer it. There are 27 major indices available to the market participant. All have options contracts available on the underlying.
These area's are my starting point for a visual inspection of where the "smart money" is rotating into and out of. At the risk of sounding cliche, I'll say the following, volume precedes price and price movement without news is the cleaner play for the swing trader. Large players cannot take positions without leaving the foot print for all to see. People have memories and react the same way over and over again to the same scenario, herein lies another edge for the trader.
Institutions, Insurers, Hedge funds, and Market makers are all more technically driven than they would like us to believe. I like to see where the indices rests in regard to the 20/50/200 day moving averages - these are important to the big boys. Are they supportive or resistive to movement? Price consolidation's at or just above those averages are ripe for breakouts and subsequent pullbacks.
Have recent prices tightened up as they have neared resistance? Is a chart pattern developing? Relative strength, chart patterns, i.e.: bases/c&h's/pullbacks, bar patterns, i.e.: NR days/range expansion days/exhaustion days, volume, historical volatility contraction Vs expansion, oscillator pattern's and position's what is the forecast. The overall market dynamics i.e.: VIX/ ad line/ ticks/ trin/ premium. What does the next higher time frame say about the potential for an advance? All play a role in determining where and in what to begin a position. I hope this helps.
-Hoyler
below are the major sectors, you can break them down further with IBD or something similar, GL!
$BIX.X S&P Bank Index
$BKX.X PHLX Bank Index
$BTK.X AMEX Biotech Index
$CEX.X S&P Chemical Index
$CMR.X AMEX Morgan Stanley Consumer Index
$CYC.X AMEX Morgan Stanley Cyclical Index
$DOT.X The Street.Com Internet Index
$DRG.X AMEX Pharmaceutical Index
$FPP.X Forrest and Paper Products
$HCX.X S&P Health Care Index
$IIX.X Interactive Internet Index
$IUX.X S&P Insurance Index
$JPN.X AMEX Japan Index
$MXY.X Mexico Index
$OSX.X PHLX Oil Service
$PSE.X Pacific High Technology Index
$RLX.X S&P Retail Index
$SOX.X PHLX Semiconductor
$SPF.X S&P 40 Financials
$UTY.X PHLX Utility Index
$TRX.X S&P Transportation Sector
$XAL.X Airline Index
$XAU.X PHLX Gold/Silver Sector
$XBD.X AMEX Broker/Dealer Index
$XCI.X AMEX Computer Technology Index
$XOI.X AMEX Oil Index
$XTC.X AMEX Telecommunications Index