Last week, the major indexes fell back below round-number thresholds that had taken a lot of effort to eclipse. There has been an ongoing ebb-and-flow of capital between risk-on and risk-off, including high sector correlations, which is far from ideal. But at the end of it all, the S&P 500 found itself right back on top of long-standing support and poised for a bounce, and Monday’s action proved yet again that bulls are determined to defend their long-standing uptrend line.

Surprise!  The market roared ahead this morning with all three major domestic indices up at least 1.5%. The move was triggered by a weekend with little negative economic news domestically and globally.  Then this morning, an impressive increase in Consumer Confidence to 76.2, which was not only well above last month’s 68.1 and the projected 72.5 but also a 5-year high, provided investors something to cheer about.

The weekend’s worries that the Fed may be planning the end or slowdown of QE3 translated into a lackluster market performance with little movement in any of the major indices.