While the largest and most influential stocks in the market have propelled the S&P 500 Index above resistance at the 200-day moving average, we still must be cognizant of all those benchmarks that are struggling around that long-term hurdle. Real Time Economic Calendar provided by Investing.com. *** Stocks highlighted are for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice to purchase or to sell mentioned securities. As always, the use of technical and fundamental analysis is encouraged in order to fine tune entry and exit points to average seasonal trends. Stocks Entering Period of Seasonal Strength Today: Subscribers – Click on the relevant link to view the full profile. Not a subscriber? Signup here. E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASD:ETFC) Seasonal Chart Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) Seasonal Chart Lindsay Corp. (NYSE:LNN) Seasonal Chart German American Bancorp (NASD:GABC) Seasonal Chart Novartis A G (NYSE:NVS) Seasonal Chart Bank of Marin (NASD:BMRC) Seasonal Chart Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (NASD:GSBC) Seasonal Chart Pan American Silver Corp. (NASD:PAAS) Seasonal Chart iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF (NYSE:EWH) Seasonal Chart Pioneer Municipal High Income Trust (NYSE:MHI) Seasonal Chart Blackrock MuniYield Quality Fund Inc. (NYSE:MQY) Seasonal Chart American Tower Corp. (NYSE:AMT) Seasonal Chart Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce (TSE:CM.TO) Seasonal Chart CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Seasonal Chart Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (NYSE:BRK/B) Seasonal Chart Modine Manufacturing Co. (NYSE:MOD) Seasonal Chart iShares Global Telecom ETF (NYSE:IXP) Seasonal Chart The Markets Stocks closed little changed on Thursday as investors digested mixed news on the economy. The S&P 500 Index closed higher by just less than a tenth of one percent, continuing to hold support at its rising 20-day moving average. Horizontal resistance at 3130 continues to act as a hurdle overhead. Momentum indicators remain on sell signals following last week’s abrupt drop, but that still has not stopped investors from taking advantage of the dip to nibble away at desired positions. While we have taken comfort in recent weeks with the S&P 500 Index back above its 200-day moving average, a critical hurdle for the long-term trend, we must be cognizant that broader equity benchmarks, beyond those that encompass the largest and strongest companies in the economy, are still battling with this hurdle as resistance. These include the NYSE Composite, the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index, the Russell 2000 Index, the MSCI EAFE Index, the MSCI World ex-US Index, and the MSCI Emerging Markets Free Index. While we don’t have much of a concern with short-term disconnects, just as long as investors are chasing stocks, whether large/small or expensive/cheap, but we do have to be aware that there is a contingent of the market in these spaces, eying the potential significance of the 200-day moving average overhead, just as we were with the S&P 500 Index through the month of May. Should investors choose to be sellers around this hurdle, a lot of weight would be placed on global equity benchmarks and the signal that it would send pertaining to the longer-term path for stocks would be detrimental. Sentiment on Thursday, as gauged by the put-call ratio, ended bullish at 0.87. The 20-day moving average of the ratio is starting to curl higher, reversing the downward trajectory that has been in place since the last week of March. Sentiment is starting to shift from being overly bullish towards something more neutral. Seasonal charts of companies reporting earnings today: S&P 500 Index TSE Composite