Big Tech Names Lagging Far Behind

The NASDAQ
NDAQ
this month hit new all time highs. So did the Standard & Poor’s 500. That tired, old group of stocks known as the Dow Jones Industrials Average just made new highs.

But, wait, I’m not done: even the Russell 2000 index of small capitalization equities established unexpected new highs as December kicked off.

That’s why it’s weird — or at least, unusual — to see how former monsters like Apple
AAPL
, Microsoft
MSFT
and Netflix
NFLX
have been lagging. Up until recently, these stocks tended to lead, often dramatically and without question. This cycle, though, they’ve been met with enough selling that new highs for them have been denied.

Here’s the evidence:

The NASDAQ:

Pretty obvious if you look at it. The early September peak is followed by a couple of months of consolidation and then, a higher all time high during the first week of December.

The Standard & Poor’s 500:

It’s even stronger in terms of “higher high” than the NASDAQ. The early December all time high peaks well above the early September price. That’s a nice bit of buying volume on the second week of November, too.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average:

Same basic look here: the early September peak is eventually followed in early December by an even higher all time high.

Russell 2000 Small Caps.

When you read analysts talking about the move from “growth” to “value,” this is what they’re referring to — whether it’s an accurate take or not. The small cap index just took off and did not look back from the beginning of November to the present.

Now, take a look at the former favorites that didn’t get there:

Apple:

Every time it seems to bottom and begin to rally, the stock runs into selling before it can even approach the late August/early September all time high. The introduction of new…