Monday was yet another up-day for the S&P 500 Index as it reached 1704.95, narrowly missing its all-time high of 1709.67 set in August, but the index closed at 1697.60, up +0.57%. The Dow was also up, +0.77%, but the Nasdaq fell -0.12%

The day’s strength was chiefly attributed to a combination of Larry Summers stepping aside as the likely nominee for the new Fed chief and the signing of the agreement between Russia and the US on a method to require Syria to turn over its chemical weapons to the international control. Summers had been under fierce opposition even from Democrats, after being favored by President Obama.

Uncertainties Cloud Market's Progress

We still don’t know what the market wants or what it will get. The market continued inching ahead, up about +0.40% over the last 5 days, but it was down sharply this morning for a loss today.

Back into the Abyss. Now What?

By David Brown, Chief Market Strategist, Sabrient Systems

The last several weeks have brought a steady flow of small but important improvements in the domestic economy (see summary below), but investors have shunned risk, keeping the markets spiraling downward.