The market went through some gyrations on Wednesday in reaction to Fed Chairman Bernanke’s testimony before the Joint Economic Committee. He first defended continued quant easing by warning, “A premature tightening of monetary policy could lead interest rates to rise temporarily but also would carry a substantial risk of slowing or ending the economic recovery.” Stocks dutifully rallied and all major indexes hit new intraday highs. Read more about Sector Detector: Fed tries to refill bulls’ fuel tank as cyclicals lead

It seems that every Tuesday in 2013 since January 8 has been positive on the Dow. And this past Tuesday was no exception. Now that sounds like a trend to put money on -- buy the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) at the close each Monday and close out the position late on Tuesday. Read more about Sector Detector: Investors stay focused on their Silver Linings Playbook

"If you simply try to tell the truth you will, nine times out of ten, be original without ever having noticed it." -- C.S. Lewis

Another week, another victory lap for the Bulls.

Anyone notice a pattern here? Technically speaking, at least, that pattern is a solid uptrend, with nary an imminent level of resistance close to the horizon. Read more about ETF Periscope: Bulls Roar Could Turn Hoarse in the Coming Weeks

The S&P 500 is up 14.5% year-to-date through Wednesday, and the defensive sectors like healthcare, consumer staples, and utilities have done even better. But so far in May, the leaders have been industrials, consumer discretionary, energy, materials, financial, and technology. Read more about Sector Detector: Bulls start their move into cyclicals

Stocks finished the month of April breaking to new highs, with the S&P 500 rising above 1597. But May Day selling put a temporary hold on the bullish celebration that will certainly occur if the S&P 500 can make a clean break above psychological resistance at 1600. Was May Day the start of the usual “Sell in May and go away” practice? Read more about Sector Detector: Knock, knock, knocking on new highs … but running on fumes

Despite an environment of uninspiring economic reports, stocks have regained their footing once again. Last week, bulls found that they simply couldn’t ignore the Boston bombing like all the other worrisome news, but the quick capture of the perpetrators has removed the domestic terrorism cloud. Read more about Sector Detector: Stocks may stumble but will not fall

“All generalizations are false, including this one.” -- Mark Twain

For those investors who may have been feeling a tad complacent due to the recent record highs of several of the major indices, last week probably served as a reminder that high volatility is always just a shout away from knocking the market down a notch or three. Read more about ETF Periscope: Is “Sell In May” Already Circled On Wall Street’s Calendar?

Market timing is tough duty. Even as stocks have risen inexorably and we all knew it couldn’t go up in a straight line, still picking tops is hard. You can be wrong for a long time, and either lose your shirt shorting the market, or miss out on big gains by staying out. Read more about Sector Detector: Stocks succumb to the “new news”

Bulls have regained their footing and recruited some reinforcements, as the S&P 500 on Wednesday powered right through its 5.5-year intraday high of 1576 on increased trading volume to set a new record of 1589. Read more about Sector Detector: Bulls reclaim their mojo as Healthcare leads

Last week, I talked about the impressive strength this year in the Dow Jones Transportation Average, but it since has been hit by investors’ renewed worries about global economic growth and financial stability. Its fall has been led by weakness in the airlines. Read more about Sector Detector: Skittishness neutralizes bullish conviction