The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) rose as much as 0.9% during early trading, extending on yesterday's strong gains. Unfortunately however, the optimism didn't last with the index since returning to its familiar place in the red, down 0.3% so far.
Indeed, the market's behaviour this morning almost perfectly represents its last month. One minute, investors are optimistic and ready to buy the bargains; but the next, they're bearish and worried about the endless possibilities of what could happen next.
It's possible that today's sudden turn in emotion could be attributed to a speech made by Janet Yellen, chair of the US Federal Reserve, who indicated that the Federal Reserve still expects to increase interest rates this year. This is somewhat ironic as global equity markets recently plunged after the Fed elected to not increase interest rates at its most recent meeting for fear of upsetting the global economy.
It seems the Fed can't win, whichever avenue it chooses to take.
Despite their strong start, it's the nation's biggest banks that are weighing on the market's performance. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) have both fallen 1.2% while National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) are down 0.7% each.
Elsewhere, Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS), Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) and South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) have all continued their slide. The trio are down 0.5%, 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively, while CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) has shed 0.6%.
With the market hovering just above the 5000 point mark once again, investors could certainly look to take advantage of some of the great opportunities currently presenting themselves. In saying that, it's also vital that they mentally prepare for further volatility, which could certainly act as a drag on the market's performance in the near future.
