218 is Gonna Raise a Fuss, Gonna Raise a Holler

It may feel like the summertime blues out there, given the slow action on the market indices for a few weeks now. 

However, a round of M&A to kick off the week may spice things up below the surface, MDVN in biotechs and ISIL with semis. Indeed, the large cap biotechs like BIIB are green here, with Biogen trying to crack $320, just above. We also have a few semis on watch to see if they join the party. 

Overall, you can see the $218 level on the SPY (ETF for the S&P 500 Index) acting as a dividing line of sorts throughout August. As ripe as stocks have seemed to come in, bears have been unable thus far to hold us below it for any meaningful period of time. Until that changes, it is probably going to continue to jump the gun on the short side with any type of aggression. 

We are also keeping an eye on natural gas, given that gap up this morning. Natty has had a quiet summer, all things considering. But a late-summer push into autumn is something I am open to if the ETF can clear some important levels we have on watch.