Incredible Range On The S&P Tells Us 2 Important Things

The S&P 500 continues to be stuck in a range. This 1% range on the market has lasted now for 13 days. Friday and today the S&P has peaked above the range briefly, only to be sold into. So what does this tell us about the stock market?

1. Oil has been crushed 13% in the last 13 days. The markets holding up is a tribute to the great earnings recently from AAPL, FB, GOOGL and AMZN. But without those great news stories, what is the catalyst to fight off a continued drop in oil?

2. Chopping stock market action like this can signal distribution. Distribution is where big money (hedge funds and large institutions known as smart money), sell into the small investor buying. With all the hype on the street about the markets at all-time highs and good earnings, it is likely small money has been buying while the big money has been selling. This does not signal a healthy market, especially with the net volume on the stock market at multi decade lows.