Happy Hump-Day, folks! We'll get to our usual commentary in a moment. The first thing we want to do today is congratulate all those Elite Opportunity members who scored about a 14% gain [around print-time anyway] from their iRobot (IRBT) position. John Monroe advised EO subscribers to get into the stock back on October 14th, the company reported earnings last nigh, and IRBT jumped big-time today on the heels of the announcement. Chalk up another winner for the Elite Opportunity portfolio! And yes, I just gave you one of the picks from the EO service. Normally I wouldn't divulge these kinds of details, but in this case members have had a week to act on the idea if they wanted to, and they've got a pretty good head start on any newcomers looking to get into iRobot now. I think it'll be ok. I've told this to you before but it bears repeating now... if you'd rather hear about these great trading ideas before they take flight, subscribe to the Elite Opportunity service. Although you're getting a lot out of this end-of-day newsletter, you get so much more out of an EO membership. (Trust me. I work with the Elite Opportunity team and get their newsletter. I know what kind of actionable and profitable advice they're sharing every single trading day.) Here's how to get a free two-week trial . Or, cut and paste this link: https://www.smallcapnetwork.com/?vmpd_ckstr[click_track]=Newsletter&vmpd_ckstr_redirect=/pages/SCNEO/v1 Doubts Remain Had all the sectors fallen relatively evenly today, I would have thought nothing more of it than the market as a whole was just taking a well-deserved breather. Not every industry tanked on Wednesday, however. The utilities sector was actually up and the consumer goods arena was basically flat, while everything else was fairly deep in the red. If the sector rings a bell as a surprising leader, it's probably because I mentioned how utilities stocks were leading the bullish charge on Monday, and/or maybe because we pointed out back on October 10th how this sector had actually started to rise faster when the overall market started to sell off at a faster pace. I really hope you were listening and willing to act then, as that strength and leadership never went away. So what? The big so-what is, why are traders still thinking and trading defensively, seeking out safe-havens? The only answer that makes any sense is, the market still hasn't been convinced that the prior four days of bullishness are the beginning of a more significant rally. Honestly, it would have been better/more bullish had all sectors fallen today. In that scenario, we could have just chalked up Wednesday's weakness to good ol' profit-taking, and then waited for the dip to run its course and then try to catch a few new trades on the next leg up. When we see this kind of against-the-grain leadership from a known defensive area, however, it casts a shadow of doubt as to the broad rally's true strength. I still think the bigger trade-worthy trend is bullish, regardless of today's stumble. The market doesn't seem to be blindly on board with the idea though. That doubt is going to make it easier for the bears to spook stocks into a significant pullback. There are still some floors the bears need to break down, however, before the bearish ball gets rolling in earnest. Let's take a look. Here Comes the Cool-Off Stocks took on some water today, but it can't be a complete surprise. I think it was yesterday we pointed out the S&P 500 had rallied more than 6.0% in four days, which is a tough act to follow. A lull was likely - even necessary - to let the bulls regroup and renew their effort. That regrouping isn't apt to be done yet though, which is my way of saying the selloff isn't likely to be over yet. The follow-up question is, of course, how far do stocks need to fall before the proverbial reset button is hit? The good news is, the answer is relatively cut-and-dried. Take a look at the chart of the S&P 500 with the VIX below. The bulls tried to extend the rally a little bit further this morning, but it was never meant to be. With nothing left in the tank, the rally finally rolled over. Conversely, the VIX gave us a pretty solid reversal bar of its own. One could argue the fact that the former and once-again floor at 1926 is still holding up, as is the 20-day moving average line (blue) that was hurdled just yesterday. It wouldn't be a bad argument either. It just seems unlikely investors are going to leave Tuesday's gap unfilled. In fact, a retreat just deep enough to fill the gap would also do something we really would like to see anyway, which is go back just a bit under the 200-day moving average line (green) to throw the bears one more head-fake and then resume the bigger uptrend. From there the big line in the sand moves to 1965, but we'll look at that battleground when the time comes. Ditto for the NASDAQ Composite, but with a kicker. The NASDAQ bumped into its 100-day moving average line (gray) at the open this morning, and immediately began to tumble. The VXN also seems to be pushing up and off of a line at 18.1, which had been a ceiling. And, filling in Tuesday's gap for the composite would also mean one last dip under the 200-day moving average line, setting up a renewed rally when a lot of folks think stocks are headed down again. Now, the one thing we can't say for sure is where or when the near-term bottom is going to be made. I contend soon, and I'd be shocked if the S&P 500 was allowed to slide under 1874 before the bulls step in again. If 1874 does break down though, it could be trouble.... though good for utility stock. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it though. From the Site In case you didn't see it, there was a lot of great stuff posted at the website on Wednesday. Here are the three commentaries you have to see: The Dry Bulk Stock Rally May Well Be Built to Last (BALT, DRYS, FREE) Image Sensing Systems is Taking Flight... Again (ISNS) Callaway Golf Co (ELY) Earnings Report: A Hole in One? PSG & JOUT That's all for today, friends. We'll be back at it on Thursday.