The year 2014 has started off on a strange note.
I think we are all getting fatigued about early warning indicators, so here, hopefully, is my last comment on this. This is only the seventh time the S&P 500 has started the year with three down days since it was established in 1928. However, in six of those seven years, it posted an annual gain.
The belief that 2014 will see modestly higher interest rates is the primary story so far, and that belief is affecting stock pricing in the first three days of the year. Look at three interest-rate sensitive groups so far:
