To be sure, the current stock market seems to have little memory from one day to the next. This is evidenced by the fact that Monday's gain marked the first time since February 17 that the S&P 500 managed to put in back-to-back gains over even a two-day period. And given that the market now appears to be well on its way to the 12th direction change in the last 4 months, to say that things have been volatile is perhaps the understatement of the year so far.
Stocks closed out Friday looking weak. Sure, the screens were green as the closing bell rang. But after the big downdrafts seen on Wednesday and Thursday, Friday's rebound seemed like it belonged in the "uninspired" category. As such, the bears were out in force over the weekend, telling anyone willing to listen that this was it; the big one was finally upon us...