Before the Open (Sep 29)

Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mixed with a bullish slant – there were no big winners or losers. Europe is currently mixed. Futures here in the States are flat.
Since moving above the top of its summer range, the S&P has done a whole lot of nothing. We’ve had some gaps in both directions, some intraday swings and in the end the index has traded in a relatively tight range under newly-formed resistance at 1150. Here’s the daily chart. A measured move up takes the index above the April high.

The Russell small caps have also had a great month, but only yesterday were they able to close at a new high. If you’re looking for a divergence, look elsewhere. The small caps are doing just fine.

My stance remains the same. The trend is up, my bias is to the upside. Barring something totally unexpected, there’s a decent chance the indexes can move to the April highs this winter. But in the near term, things seem a little frothy. Bullishness is growing, so the market may need to piss off the bulls a little before legging up again. More after the open.
headlines at Yahoo Finance
today’s upgrades/downgrades
this week’s Earnings Reports
this week’s Economic Numbers