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Stocks opened lower on Wednesday and fell sharply into the early afternoon. An afternoon rally off the lows turned a really bad looking day for stocks, into a possible reversal as several charts tested and held at their 50-day EMA. That's the good news. The bad news is that some of the market leaders are leading on the downside and the jury is still out on which way they eventually break. Yields were up (bonds down), oil was up, and the dollar was flat.

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The large tech stocks showed some life on Tuesday but outside of that, the Dow and the broader market disappointed, and the broader the index, the steeper the losses yesterday. The S&P 500 lost 0.42% on the the day but the Equal Weighted S&P 500 lost 1.2%. Small caps dropped 1.5% and the I-fund lost almost 1% as the dollar continues to rally. Yields moved higher to push the F-fund down.

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Stocks were mixed but mostly higher on Friday following a Goldilocks jobs report -- more jobs were created than expected, but the unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to 3.8% and that might keep the Fed at bay for a while. The Dow gained 116-points, the Nasdaq was flat, and the S&P 500 gained back what it lost on Thursday. The I-fund lagged and small caps led with the threat of another rate hike perhaps waning after the jobs report.

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The bulls amplified their presence in the final week of August. All four TSP funds outside of the G-fund suffered losses for August, but those who bought into the selling earlier in the month were rewarded with a rally this week.

The greatest winners this week were those holding the S-fund. The small cap TSP fund has produced a six-day winning streak and has gained 4.75% over those six days and a 4.24% gain for this week alone.

The catalyst for the bulls' success ...