Stocks are in a seasonally strong period for markets, but weak breadth is still a concern, according to JC O'Hara, chief market technician at Roth MKM. The S & P 500 tends to do well in the month of July, having risen in the past nine years, according to the technician. The Nasdaq 100 has done even better, finishing positive for 16 straight years. But the market performance continues to remain bifurcated even as investor sentiment remains bullish.
While 30% of the S & P 1500 is in an uptrend, 35% is in a downtrend, the technician noted. 'From a top down perspective, the S & P 500 touched new highs last week but there have been fewer and fewer stocks also touching new 52-week highs. Just 3.4% of the market made new highs on Friday,' O'Hara said in a note titled 'Breadth Continues to Be a Concern Into a Seasonal Sweet Spot on the Calendar.