THE CLOSE

In bear markets,the general rule- markets that are weak tend to close at/near the lows. Well that was the case today as the DJIA closed down 316, NAZ -60 and SPX -37. And farewell to the long month of February which was the 4th month in a row for a lower close on the SPX.

Every sector on the screen closed in the red and that was the case just about all day and another signal it was going to be an extremely weak day in the major indexes.

Market internals- 7 losers to every winner on the NYSE- and 4/1 on the NAZ.

NDX - 8 WINNERS;

OEX -0 WINNERS;

IBD - 2 WINNERS;

TRIN- 2.74- generally - a reversal area;

VIX +13% and about 9% above the 10 SMA;

RSI (2) levels:

SPX 6

DJIA 8

RUT 7

MID 7

NAZ 8

NDX 7

Oddly enough, for all the grief, the month of February had a pretty narrow range on the SPX of 80 points between 1,396 and 1,317 - compare that to January when the SPX traded between 1,470 and 1,270 a 200 point range. There was a 40 point range today, so again- lots of movement during the day but all within an over all tight range and the coiled spring continues to turn.

Keep in mind the sell signals work better than buys in bear markets and that is where we are at.