The market’s been a hot mess this past month. Failed breakouts are piling up, with prices slipping back into their ranges and falling below key overhead supply zones.

Beneath the surface, the average drawdown for S&P 500 stocks stands at 18.2%, and the weakness is spreading across major sectors and industry group indexes.

It began with lagging areas like metals and mining, which have already rolled over, and now, groups such as banks are breaking below their prior cycle highs.

Let’s break down the choppy action and highlight the struggles across various groups to hold their breakouts.

Let’s start with the Equal-Weight Consumer Discretionary $RSPD:

The market of stocks has been a chop fest for the past month, prompting me to keep a close eye on market internals.

While trends in the major indexes remain unaffected, short-term weakness has been steadily creeping in beneath the surface.

The average 52-week drawdown of S&P 500 stocks has reached -18.2%. This means the average stock is experiencing its sharpest decline in over a year.

While the uptrends in the major indexes are holding up well, it's been a tale of mixed signals beneath the surface.

Some sectors and groups are showing strength, while others continue to lag behind.

Banks, for that matter, are an important piece of the puzzle. They are the backbone of the financial sector. They are some of the most important businesses for the US and global economy. 

How bank stocks perform gives us a good read on where the broader market is headed.

The SPDR S&P Banks ETF $KBE took a shot at breaking out of this monster base following November’s election. This marks the second attempt at reclaiming its pre-GFC highs in the past few years.