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Nothing like a 300-point swing to light up the volatility index. That’s pretty much what happened last Friday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) started the day with a nice little 70-point gain in the morning.

From that point on, however, investors seemed to lose their appetite for equities, as the Dow trended steadily downward for the remainder of the day. Steadily, that is, until the last 15 minutes of the trading session, when a sharp drop ensued as sellers proceeded without any noticeable resistance into the close.
  Read more about ETF Periscope: Bears Eye Recent VIX Pop With Considerable Interest

From the Fed, from Congress and President, and from Europe for starters. Chairman Bernanke may give us the former as he testifies on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  Congress must act by Friday over the sequestration issues.  And Italy could’ve helped a bit today if its election resulted in a more stable government, although that does appear to be happening. Read more about What the Market Wants: The Market Wants Clarity Now!

January was a good month for the market as the S&P 500 reached a new 5-year high at 1498, up about 5% for the month.  February has started strong, up yet another 1%. Mid-caps dominated the month along with Small-caps, but no style/cap did poorly.  For the month, the leading sectors were Healthcare, up a whopping 9%, as our forward looking SectorCast had predicted, along with Industrials, up about 8.5%, followed by Financials and Energy, up about 8%. Read more about What the Market Wants: Market Valuation just Above Average

“Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.” -- Dalai Lama

After being bombarded with what feels like a million years of presidential campaign news and advertisements, this coming week will finally bring closure to the identity of the next U.S. President.

That is barring, of course, any new variations on the old “hanging chad” parlor game. Read more about ETF Periscope: Elections the Flame, Wall Street the Moth

“The lack of money is the root of all evil.”—Mark Twain

Friday’s market action was more schizophrenic than usual, as traders and investors couldn’t decide if the unexpectedly upbeat unemployment report was enough to offset growing concerns about the new earnings season, slated to begin next week. Read more about ETF Periscope: Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Earnings Season

The Fed has enacted QE3 with an indefinite time deadline. Europe continues to make progress after Draghi’s bond buying announcement and Chancellor Merkel’s reaffirmation. The market has noticed and responded with a strong upward movement in each of the past two weeks.   Read more about What the Market Wants: QE3 can Likely Produce 10% Short-term Gain

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. “  -- Albert  Einstein

In spite of the rather nice ride the stock market has had these last six weeks, it might be a mistake to assume it will last once September rolls around, when a series of domestic and macroeconomic factors come into play. Read more about ETF Periscope: Low VIX Levels Should Be High On Your Hedge List

"I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.” --Stephen Hawking Read more about ETF Periscope: Wall Street Banks on Greek Order, But Volatility Continues to Lurk

“One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.” -- Henry Miller

Investors seemed to have regained their collective mojo, powering the S&P 500 Index (SPX) back up to the 1400 mark for the first time in three weeks. The upward move by SPX was fueled mostly by better-than-expected first quarter earnings, which increased the bottom line for the benchmark index by 1.8% on the week. Read more about ETF Periscope: As Wall Street Eyes Earnings, This is a Good Time to Place a Bet on Eurozone

Editor’s note: Walt Gault is the guest author this week. David Brown will be back next week. Read more about What the Market Wants: Strong Start for the Quarter