Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive
 

Today's market rally was unprecedented. SPX ran up $36 to close at $1693. RUT closed up $26 at $1070. Both indexes gapped open this morning. SPX then proceeded to break through resistance at the 50 dma at $1678 and closed well above that level at $1693. RUT traded even stronger, gapping open above the 50 dma and breaking through resistance at $1062. As one might expect amid all of this enthusiasm, volatility dropped off by three points with VIX closing at 16.5%, a very bullish move.

Trading volume was not as large as I would have guessed. 2.2 billion shares of the S&P 500 stocks traded today, down from yesterday. Trading increased by 1% on the NYSE, but decreased 17% on NASDAQ. We saw record breaking one day advances on many of the market indexes today, but trading volume was flat at best?

Of course, the question of the day is whether this enthusiasm is warranted. It isn't clear that a deal has been reached on the debt limit or the government shutdown. If the debt limit is just kicked down the road a few weeks, does that warrant a strong bull market? One can't argue with the tape, but I am not reassured that all is well.

I wonder what the debt rating agencies are discussing behind closed doors. Of course, the Feds have sued S&P over their bond rating services in 2007-2008, so they may be chastised into pretending all is well. Federal debt is now at 17 trillion and rapidly rising; the current debt situation is worse than it was in 2011 when they downgraded the treasury debt. What happens to the market then?