UP DOWN UP DOWN....

What the market giveth the market taketh away and so on. Yesterday's gain which wiped out the losses from the day before and getting wiped out as of lunch time. However the dow is down nearly 3% while the mlp index is down 1.5% which is relative outperformace again. The index is being dragged by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) and its equity offering. Its down 1.85. Kinder Morgan was down over 1 and is now up on the day so its pulling it the other way. We'll call it a wash from that end. Most MLPS are down fractionally today. Not many news drivers. I have notcied however that mlps which have announced distribtuions either flat or up from the previous quarter are holding up pretty well. We should continue to pay attention to this as there continues to be signs that mlps are seeing accumulation in here.

We're back down to that critical support area around 8000 on the dow. Heaven help us if it breaks down decisively this afternoon. So far it has held. MLPS remain well above their climax lows of November December which is down around 150.

RBC Capital Markets keeps Williams (WPZ) at top pick. Steifel Nicholas keeps Markwest (MWE) at a buy but lowers its target price to 16 bucks from 29. Both stocks are down today.