After today's action, even the bulls are growing a weary of this lopsided market. It has been slowly inching up since the big gap to start the new year, and the pace of the advance gained momentum today. The persistence of the buyers is impressive.
We simply have not looked back since the big move on the fiscal-cliff deal. There have been very minor pullbacks, but the upside move has been slow enough to prevent the market from being dramatically overbought. It is still in good shape technically, although the bears are complaining loud and long about complacency. I heard quite a few traders express disappointment today with the action on their screens. They felt they weren't keeping up with the indices and weren't happy with the action in individual holdings. Whatever drove the indices today wasn't in the portfolios of the traders I talked with.
Sometimes I'm a bit repetitive about sticking with the price action until there is an actual shift. I do that, in part, because I have to remind myself how often this market has produced V-shape moves that kill the folks trying too hard to call tops. It is hard to resist the temptation to look for a sudden reverse and have to make a conscious effort not to.
There are a few things about the action to worry about if you are so inclined, but the way to deal with that is to cut the individual stocks that aren't acting right. The broader market still has not committed any major sins.
Intel (INTC) earnings came out a few minutes before the bell. The stock spiked up a little at first but is now falling on tepid guidance. INTC has often been an important bellwether, so we'll have to watch it carefully tomorrow.
Have a good evening. I'll see you tomorrow.
