“Is That All There Is?”

“Let’s keep dancing.” Borrowing from an old Peggy Lee song, this corrective period just hasn’t amounted to much. The Bull didn’t think it would. Of course, it still might not be over, but the stock market has had plenty of opportunity to break down, but it hasn’t. In fact, declines have been met with buying, not more selling. This bull market is still intact.

Money flows look good, the percentage of stocks above their moving average is excellent, and despite lackluster volumes, this market is resilient. Even higher interest rates haven’t had much impact. Remember, current rates are still reasonable when viewed from a historical perspective. They are just getting back to normal, and we are getting used to it.

Certainly, in this past earnings season there were some disappointments but also many positive surprises. Around 84% of companies reporting met or exceeded expectations; that’s quite a good record. There is no reason to expect less in the remainder of this year. So instead, we’ll keep dancing, focused on our long-term objectives and shedding all the noise and concerns of the present.

The Lonely Bull