The S&P 500 (SPY  ) has started the week slightly higher though the trading has been anything but straight forward. The SPY saw some volatility on Tuesday as more concerns in Washington briefly shocked the markets. The new email news sent markets lower Tuesday, but by the end of the day had recovered all the days losses. For now the SPY finds itself in the midst of the summer doldrums with very little progress made in the last two weeks.

The Nasdaq 100 (QQQ  ) tells a slightly different story as it has for some time now. So far this week the Nasdaq 100 has managed a string of winning days, up about 1%. Depending on your time frame you could be seeing two different pictures. In the short term there is no doubt some selling pressure, but in the long term view the last few weeks are just a small pullback in the midst of a larger uptrend. For the year the Nasdaq 100 still sits with a healthy gain of over 15%.

After leading the way for a few weeks the financials (XLF  ) have given a little back this week. Down around 1% for the week so far the XLF has not been able to find the bulls this week. Again, the week has not shaped up to be a winning one as of now, but in the bigger picture, technical traders would argue that this weakness is simple profit taking.

Lastly, the Dollar (UUP  ) continues its weak streak. The currency etf has been lower all week so far and still remains in a downtrend. All year long the UUP has been trending lower and now finds itself at the half year mark with losses of around 6%. Technical traders note some price support though it is still about 2% below Tuesday's prices.