Say you have ECU moving up and down with the market. ECU puts out a really attractive release, the market for ECU rises rapidly, while the pm market is climbing, traders jump out of ECU while pms are rising, and start a selling down process (maybe to fill a low gap). Meanwhile the pms have hit their cyclical high and also start falling, but at that stage ECU has already been sold off. So do the traders buy back in or stay out then, and does ECU fall with the market anyway? this is what brings down the share price..when the market rises traders sell and buyers try to buy back as low as possible, while worn out long term holders buy high and sell in fear.

Then you have different cycles within stock sectors. Some stocks had a high Sept last year, others in October on a different rythmn, but owners of portfolios who dont see it like that will be trying to sell or buy back into both at the same time because they are perceived to be the same kind.

The pm shares topped with the S&P because some analyst argued the credit crunch = deflation and not good for pms People listened to it..others are arguing that people should be all in physical at this point and not in the shares, why not? I dont see it, but obviously others do. Now you are pondering on the sell in May rule, but an analyst posted here a while ago said that 'they' had dispensed with the sell in May rule because the junior market is already decimated., (the whole point of the sell in May rule is riding down a high, not jumping out at the bottom).

Its about sentiment. Read the Bullion Desk article from London, they think the gold bottom is in for this year. Sentiment in gold is bearish - not a top