S&P 500 And Dow Enjoy Gains, Others Missed The Party

Although the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average indices enjoyed pretty good gains Wednesday and finished at fresh all-time highs, the rest of the major indices failed to join the party.

The NASDAQ, NASDAQ 100 and Microcap indexes actually finished lower.

To be sure this was somewhat odd behavior on a day that was supposed to reflect the great cheer created by the Republicans trouncing their opponents in the midterm elections and retaking control of the Senate for the first time in eight years.

The lackluster performance reminds me of the old Wall Street saw suggesting that a market that doesn't rally on good news could be in trouble. But wait, the S&P did rally. So, this is a little odd.

Digging deeper into yesterday's action, it was also odd to see some of the social media darlings such as LinkedIn LNKD take a hit and for some big names in the NASDAQ 100 QQQ such as Intel INTC, Google GOOGL and Amazon AMZN to struggle on a day that was expected to be a sea of green on the screens.

Related Link: Can We Trust The Bulls' Latest Stampede?

Also odd is the leadership being displayed by some of the traditionally defensive sectors. For example...

Consumer Staples Sector SPDR XLP - Daily

Consumer Staples, which normally lead when the market is in trouble, are blasting higher at the present time with the chart looking like tech in the late 1990s.

So, is this action indicative of concern about the state of the market on the part of money managers? Is this the reluctant long play, or are the valuations simply compelling at current levels? In any event, it is indeed odd to see Consumer Staples ripping to new highs as the major indices struggle to reach the Promised Land.

Along those lines, it is odder still to see the normally staid Utilities sector rocketing higher here.

Utilities Sector SPDR XLU - Daily

The bears contend that the recent leadership seen in the Staples and Utilities sectors is a harbinger of bad things to come. The furry friends suggest that defensive leadership is not healthy action and that another meaningful decline is on the horizon.

However, it should be noted that the profitability of many utility companies is tied to energy prices. So with oil diving the lowest level in years, it isn't exactly surprising to see momentum-oriented traders bopping into the utility space for a trade.

The Takeaway

So let's review. The bears tried to implement the "sell the fact" trade yesterday on the Republican win but were only mildly successful -- and only in certain areas.

Then the current sector leadership is clearly defensive -- all during what appears to be a fairly strong period for stocks. Thus, the takeaway is that things are just a little bit odd these days. Since the market has been a roller coaster ride of late, this is probably not a good time to be asleep at the switch.