The stock market weakened almost into the close Monday, but gave up little of the prior week's 1% plus gains.
X The Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed 0.2% lower. The Dow Jones industrial average eased 0.1%. The Russell 2000 fell 0.5%, a rare day of lagging performance for the small-cap benchmark.
Volume fell from Friday's totals, according to early numbers.
Dow component Apple (AAPL) has sputtered since breaking out past a 156.75 buy point on Aug. 2 after the company's strong earnings report. But for more than two weeks, the stock has been trading below the 50-day moving average. Apple has been consolidating long enough to be in a new flat base with a potential buy point at 165.04.
Of course, Apple will need to get back above the 50-day line and improve a woeful Accumulation/Distribution Rating of E.
Health care and retail were sectors that had multiple industry groups in the bottom of Monday's performance table. Drugstores fell more than 3% and drug wholesalers 2.5% after an analyst downgraded Express Scripts (ESRX) amid fears that Amazon.com (AMZN) could disrupt the pharmaceuticals industry by venturing into online prescription drug sales. Express Scripts shares slid to the lowest levels since April 2017. Amazon shares were little changed.
Monday's best industry groups included a few defensive areas such as tobacco, gold mining and meat products. But the energy sector was strong too as the price of U.S. crude oil rose 0.5% to $49.50 a barrel.
From a broader perspective, the market outlook is positive, and for investors looking to add exposure to the market, a couple of breakouts were interesting.
Atlassian (TEAM) rose above the 39.35 buy point of a cup-without-handle base. Volume more than doubled its average, a good sign as the stock seeks to extend a two-week rally.
Despegar.com (DESP) surged past the 33.50 buy point of an IPO base, a shorter-than-normal pattern that often develops with new issues. Argentina-based Despegar.com closed slightly below the buy point, so watch for the stock to climb back above the entry. Despegar (which means take off in Spanish) was discussed in the IPO Leaders column in IBD Weekly. The company is an online provider of travel services.
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