One of the market gauges I have been tracking is the performance of the "bellwether" names. Last month, we looked at Apple Inc (AAPL), Google Inc (GOOG), Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and General Electric Co (GE) with idea that these stocks can serve as a gauge for overall buying demand. I revisited the topic last week and saw a somewhat murky picture. Shares of Apple were holding up but the other names were struggling. The one bright spot was that all of the stocks were still above their recent lows. That situation has now deteriorated.

Charts Courtesy of Thomson Financial

In just over a week, we find that GOOG, MSFT, and GE have firmly violated their October lows. Shares of APPL, which had been holding up, are now flirting with a breakdown too. As I have discussed in the past, I think this is worth noting as it gives us a hint to the underlying confidence as these are some of the most widely followed stocks. It is also worth reiterating that these are also some of the most-liked stocks by analysts. Here's the current ratings breakdown for each.

Apple Inc	Google Inc
Microsoft Corp	General Electric Co

Analysts have backed away from General Electric, but Apple, Google, and Microsoft are still very much Wall Street darlings. The breakdown not only suggests a lack of underlying erosion in confidence but may raise the risk of downgrades. That would only serve to put more supply on an already weak situation. The broad market indices are still holding at their October lows but I am concerned the breakdown in the bellwethers is offering a warning sign.