Before the Open (Mar 23)

Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. China, India and Indonesia gained more than 1%. Europe is currently trading mostly up; there are no big winners or losers. Futures here in the States point towards a flat open for the cash market.
The market dropped from just under 1300 to 1250 after the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear crisis played out in Japan, the S&P quickly recovered its losses. Volume was less on the way up than on the way down, but the points recovery was still impressive. So impressive that although I was interested in shorting a bounce last week, I’m less interested now. If the market either drifts sideways or if the bears can’t take back control while the indexes do some backing and filling, I’ll be more interested in buying a dip or playing a breakout than going short. But for now I’m mostly in cash and waiting for the market to reveal more of its intentions.
Here’s the 60-min SPY chart. There’s lots of resistance overhead, so the market has work to do. A continuation of the sideways movement or an innocent pullback would assist in an eventually rally attempt.

Be patient. I think the forceful move off the lows neutralized the negative sentiment, but we could still get a quick move in either direction because the market still very much news driven. More after the open.
headlines at Yahoo Finance
today’s upgrades/downgrades
this week’s Earnings Reports
this week’s Economic Numbers