Underneath The Bull's Hooves

Looks like Asia didn't like the China PMI figures last night. HSBC's Flash China PMI was the lowest in 11 months (47.7) which was the worst 4-month collapse in the manufacturing indicator in three years, while the employment sub-index plunged to 47.3, the lowest in 52 months.

The Western world seems placated by news from Apple for the time being. But that's just on the surface. Bank of America reports things have quietly shifted underneath the bull's hooves during the last month. Institutions (professionals) have been net sellers since late June at the largest rate since 2008, while (you guessed it) retail investors have been piling in on the long side at the highest rate since 2011.

Perhaps that's why the following charts look the way they do.

Up Volume, where is it?

52-week highs, where are they?

Advancers, where have they gone?

Pricewise, however, I see nothing yet to suggest that higher levels will not be attempted. Yesterday's decline stopped short of 1691.13 (and just so happened to bounce off a perfect hit of a 61.8% Fib extension, thus failing to even make it to a 1:1 extension).

1700, 1705.56, 1709-1712 . . . multiple targets reside above the market. 1678.12 remains the stop unless a new high occurs first. The market doesn't care about technicals right now, and neither do buyers.