Our thundering herd of baby bulls struggled mightily last week to stay clear of that gloomy channel, and at one time the S&P 500 threatened to cross back under its 50-day moving average, but it ended the week about where it started.

The market ended last week in a good mood, but is still struggling to gain enough traction for a sustained breakout beyond 1100 on the S&P500. The question in everyone’s mind:  Is it simply consolidating in preparation for a big Santa Claus rally? There are certainly plenty of market observers on both sides of the fence.