Markets gapped down to start Tuesday as some German economic data came in lighter than expected and the market was simply finding an excuse to back and fill some. But as has been the norm of late, buyers came in as the day progressed and a late day rally actually pushed some indexes into the green. The NASDAQ was the exception as yet another horrid day for Apple (AAPL) dragged down the index. The S&P 500 gained 0.11% while the NASDAQ dropped 0.22%. In economic news the Commerce Department said retail salse for November came in at 0.5%, a bit above November's 0.4%.

As for the indexes we are a familiar spot for the S&P 500 - it has butted its head against this 1472 level each of the past four sessions. No surprise as this is right near the September 2012 highs.



The NASDAQ continues to skew a bit more negative as the weight of Apple hurts.



Apple was downgraded again, this time by Nomura - the analyst cut his December quarter iPhone sales estimates to 48 million from 50 million, and lowered his revenue forecast for Apple to $53 million from $54.2 million, saying that he still believes margins on the iPhone “are unsustainably high and will fall.” That said, famous market timer Tom Demark said after the close today that either today or tomorrow would be the bottom for Apple and he sees a rally to $600. If so that should help the entire NASDAQ index.



The retail sales data helped lift the consumer related ETFs such as XRT



Also wanted to highlight the action in silver which finally has the chance to turn more positive as the metal has sat out almost the entire rally. The metal has finally broken out of its bear flag and is testing recent highs; a break over those highs would be the first higher high in a while.



As we approach the heart of earnings season beginning tomorrow, please review Blain's post on "5 Easy Steps to Navigate Earnings Season Better than the Pros".

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