Markets Continue to Throttle Opposition

 The bear beat-down continues ... with a vengeance.

 This will all end eventually, of course, but there has been nothing to be gained by market timers looking for a top. In fact, shorts were so ruthlessly fragged Friday morning prior to the opening bell that there might not be any of them left.

Hell hath no fury like an angry bull

 The SPX, which was lagging the Indoos and Q's, finally busted a trendline today and there is room to run ... short-term we could be looking at as much as 1376.55. This is based on a four month pattern from the October low. A breach of that number and there are plenty of patterns pointing higher.

 Left click on chart(s) to expand

 What about longer term on the weekly?

It's a simple game called follow the money

 If we want to go back ... way back, who is to say we couldn't go higher? The doom and gloom sites with which we've become addicted? Once again, the midpoint validates the pattern.

 It's all well and good trying to time a top. Who hasn't done that a time or two? It is when we repeatedly make the same mistakes over and over again, however, where we either learn to go with the flow or stand aside until market situations turn to our favour. Momentum is clearly on the buyer's side right now, and it will take a severe pull back for the power to shift back over to the sellers.

 While it is true any reversal in the markets has always started with a tiny little pattern on a tick chart, we still need to evaluate what's happening based on several factors. More importantly, though, we need to judge what we see developing ... without prejudice. Otherwise, we will continue to make the same errors and be tossed from the game just before a forecast for a bearish reversal is finally proven correct.

  

 The Canadian TSX has not lived up to expectations, though it continues on an upward path. Comparitive to the SPX, the TSX has been out-paced and is down almost 9% over the last year. Weakness in oil and natural gas have contributed to its somewhat lacklustre performance, as have the mining stocks, which still have a laborious climb ahead to make up for lost distance since the beginning of October.

 Gold has gained marginally vs the SPX since the beginning of the year, but since March, 2009, the two continue to trade closely.

 China's market has been on a tear of its own since October and just closed above a four month pattern yesterday with barely so much as a blink. A longer-term pattern leads to 297.91, though a decent pullback could be in order before making an attempt.

 

 There is not much point calling for a reversal, even though we should be on the lookout for one. When patterns are continually surpassed, and many have been, it could mean there's more in store for the bulls. The Russell 2000, the Q's, and the banks are just a few among the many indexes to have reached - and breached - recent targets.

Always perform your own due diligence. These are only my opinions.