Stocks continue to hold up like troopers even though bulls have lost some traction, perhaps due to a combination of the summer doldrums and overbought technical conditions that have them biding time until the next setup for a run at new highs. To be sure, bears are AWOL and missing their opportunity to create some fear and ignite a correction.

The market continued to inch ahead today, with the S&P 500 taking another aim at the 18-month high of 1180 which it reached last Thursday before backing off a bit on Friday.  The only thing nudging the market forward seems to be the lack of anything really negative. The economic releases over the past week and today were either at or slightly above projections, and we seemed to have dodged the bullet on a couple of portentous events.