Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) failed to rally above its 50-day moving average last week.

And along with Goldman went the S & P 500, suggesting that uncertainty is still ruling the roost in the market.

As we've said many times, Goldman has been the bellwether for the financial markets for a long time, certainly, since the market bottomed in 2003. And as Goldman goes, so does the market.

The correlation is not perfect, as there have been times when the market and Goldman shares have diverged. Yet, lately, the pairing has held up quite well. So, last week's swoon for Goldman at the 50-day moving average is of concern.

Of more concern, though, is the 150 area for Goldman, since that's near the recent closing low. A big and sustained break below that would be very negative for the market.

So what could derail Goldman and the markets? Well, we have earnings season straight ahead. And that means that warnings, failures to meet expectations, and other general evil things are out there waiting.

In other words, the failure at the 50-day moving average might have been a prelude to what lies ahead.

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He is the author of four books: "Futures And Options For Dummies," "Successful Energy Sector Investing," "Successful Biotech Investing" and co-author of "After-Hours Trading Made Easy."

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