Stocks Lower into Final Hour on Quarter-end Profit-taking

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio is slightly lower into the final hour on losses in my Medical longs and Semi longs. I have not traded today, thus leaving the Portfolio 100% net long. The tone of the market is slightly negative as the advance/decline line is modestly lower, sector performance is mixed and volume is below average. Most professional and individual investors have not embraced the recent rally despite the fact that the S&P 500 is poised to post its best third quarter in 11 years. In fact, short interest on the NYSE and Nasdaq is at all-time highs. Most bearish sentiment readings are still very high considering the DJIA is less than 50 points from an all-time high. The ISE Sentiment Index has bounced around depressed levels for months. The OEX Put/Call ratio has been elevated during this time, as well. Domestic stock mutual funds are still seeing outflows. Commodity and emerging market funds, which have received huge capital infusions this year, will likely see significant outflows at year-end. How many times earlier in the year did we hear investment managers talk about the mid-term election cycle decline they expected and that they were already positioned for it? Historically, the average bottom for mid-term election cycle lows is tomorrow. There is still massive bull firepower available to push the major averages even higher through year-end. I sense we are still in the early stages of a stunning rally. I expect US stocks to trade mixed-to-higher into the close from current levels on short-covering and bargain-hunting.