"Animal spirits" of the Nasdaq too subdued to give much boost to equities right now

The Nasdaq's substantial underperformance today goes along with the likelihood that the equities rally crested out last week. Below is a chart of the QQQQ. There's a common idea that Nasdaq strength shows the kind of "animal spirits" when investors and traders are more open to risky investments. Conversely, when the Nasdaq lags, it signals more risk aversion, which isn't good for equities in general. Probably not surprising then that TLT did better today (even though it's been looking weak lately). Notice that the semiconductors (SMH chart below) are really weak too - the combination of stochastics and on-balance volume (OBV) indicators is on the edge of making a very bearish move. That's likely to occur if and when the SMH falls under about $24.50 and especially $24.00. It's sobering because for a long time, the semiconductor sector has been considered a leading indicator.

I've also included below the chart showing that the percentage of Nasdaq stocks remaining above their 50-day moving average has fallen under 50%. And the Nasdaq-to-S&P 500 ratio chart at bottom (NDX:SPX) shows that this ratio is rolling over. All in all, today's negative divergence is part of this picture suggesting that the "animal spirits" are likely to continue turning negative and drag equities generally lower. This doesn't mean we won't get reaction bounces, such as the one we're expecting from tomorrow into the end of this week (remember, new month/new money!). But it does suggest that such bounces are likely to be counter-trend, corrective waves.