Over time, we have continually espoused the value of following the Institutional Index of "core holdings".

It is not really an index, but rather, it is a compendium of the majority of stocks that Institutional Investors own from an invested value standpoint. Because Institutional Investors own a majority of the market, it is the reason that the market can be influenced by Institutional Investors.

It is the reason why a third of the daily charts we post (daily) cover Institutional trending, daily Institutional Buying and Selling levels, Institutional Accumulation and /or Distribution, etc.

One of the charts I like is a Point & Figure chart of the Institutional "core holdings". For those unfamiliar with Point & Figure charts, they are charts where only the price movements are considered with the time element taken out.

In a sense, they can give a purer reading of the trending. Add the fact that the Institutional "core holdings" are not really an index, you then have a index representation of the market that can't be invested in, shorted, manipulated, or anything else. It is just there ... telling you what is going on without outside influences.

Enough talk ... let's take a look at today's 30 Minute Point & Figure chart for the Institutional "core holdings" that goes back to this past June. More importantly, this chart was created at 9:48 AM this morning, so it reflects the drop that happened since the open.

What it show's is that the index dropped from the arrow (at the close yesterday), to the bottom of its support at 9:48 AM this morning. So, now at the support, stocks have a decision to make ... fail below the support and move down further, or bounce off of the support and keep its up trending in place. What will it do? We shall know the answer by the end of the day, but for now, it is holding at the support line.