The S&P futures were up double digits in positive territory as I checked them first thing this morning - almost the opposite of Wednesday morning. SPX tacked on $24 to close at $1887, but RUT lost $4 to close at $1082. Hmmm... That worries me a bit. RUT started this bounce back earlier this week. Maybe we aren't out of the woods just yet. Take a look back at the fall of 2011 on your favorite charting service (I like StockCharts.com). SPX hit bottom on August 8th with a close of $1119; for the next 3 days, SPX traded up and down, repeatedly testing that support level. Then it rose and one might have concluded all was well. But it retested support with a close at $1124 on August 19th. And, then a month later on September 22nd, it closed at $1130. On October 3rd, SPX dipped down and closed at $1099 before it finally began its climb higher. Wednesday's plunge was scary, and we are all anxious to say the boogyman is gone, but he may be awaiting a sequel - remember Michael in Halloween? My point is simply this; don't let your guard down.

Volatility backed off by over three points with the VIX closing at 22%, but that is still a relatively high number. Trading volume also fell off a bit with 2.9 billion shares of the S&P 500 stocks trading today - again, volume pulled back, but it is still well above average. Trading volume dropped 12% on the NYSE and decreased 14% on NASDAQ.

Housing starts came in at annualized rates of 1017k for September and building permits matched that with 1018k. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey reported at 86.4 for October, up a bit from last month's 84.6.

I am glad to see this week end, and I doubt that I am alone. Enjoy your weekend and rejuvenate. This correction may have some life left in it. But there is no need worrying about that until Monday.