SPX tried to break out to new highs this morning, only to be pulled back, but then the bulls reasserted themselves and SPX closed up $6 at $1569, a new all-time high for this index. RUT was more muted with a one dollar increase to close at $952. VIX dropped a half point to 12.7%. Trading volume bumped up a bit to 2.3 billion shares of the S&P 500. Trading on the NYSE was up 22% and trading on NASDAQ was up 13%. With tomorrow's holiday, the exchanges will be closed, so today was the last trading day for the quarter. That explains the increase in trading volume as institutional managers positioned their funds for the end of quarter statements. If this was the usual "window dressing" by fund managers, then we may see a bit of a pull back on Monday.

Today's higher close on SPX was a break-out of the recent trading range from $1550 to $1565. But I'm skeptical that will hold. Look at RUT. This index of small and mid-cap stocks has also traded in a tight sideways range for the past 2-3 weeks, from $940 to $955. But RUT has been much more quiet as SPX continues to make these highs. Normally I would expect to see RUT leading the bullish charge.

Initial unemployment claims came out this morning at 357k, up from last week’s 341k. Continuing unemployment claims dropped 27k from last week. Fourth quarter GDP came in at a modest growth of 0.4% annualized, and the Chicago PMI reported out at 52.4 for March, down from 56.8 in February. These economic data reinforce the case that this bullish market is built on the FOMC, not economic fundamentals. Our economy is slowly recovering, but it certainly isn’t in the boom mode that this bullish market run might suggest.

So we wait to see what April brings. It is worth considering that the past three Aprils brought significant downdrafts in the markets... interesting.

Enjoy your long weekend.