The market finished the final session of the week in a mixed fashion. Although the Nasdaq failed to extend its winning streak to thirteen due to poor earnings results from Microsoft and Amazon, it is nonetheless a great victory for the bulls. If such earnings results were released two or three months ago, I wouldn't be surprised to see the market to easily give up 2% or even more. Today's action shows that the market is resilient to bad news and has more room to the upside. Of course, a short-term pullback cannot be ruled out given that the market has risen almost breathless by more than 10% in such a short period of time. So why the sudden rally? For starters, the market is still cheap relatively to other asset classes. Despite the recent rally, the S&P 500 is at the same level as where it was a decade ago. Revenues and profits have certainly risen during the past decade, meaning stocks are cheap on a relative basis. Then we have the massive cash sitting on the sideline. Equity funds continued to see outflows in recent weeks and there are more than $4 trillion sitting in money market funds that almost earn nothing. In addition, many fund managers are behind the benchmark by a wide margin for the year and they are afraid that the train could leave the station without them.

Most major sectors finished the session modestly higher led by healthcare and utilities. The CRB commodity index rose 0.3%. The US dollar was lower against most major currencies. Treasuries fell with the yield curve steepened. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged at 50 bps. The VIX index was little changed. The market breath was neutral on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was lighter compared to the previous session.

The market resumed its rally on Thursday following yesterday's pause. By close, all three major indexes were up by more than 2% and closed at their highest level for the year. The Dow closed above 9000 level for the first time since early January. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, extended its winning streak to twelve, the best run since 1992. Generally better-than-expected earnings and economic news were behind today's broad rally. The weekly initial jobless claims climbed 30K to 554K, in-line with expectation. Continuing claims dropped again and came in at 6.23 million. Existing home sales for June increased 3.6% from May to an annual rate of 4.89 million units. The monthly increase was the third time in a row. After the bell, both Amazon and Microsoft reported disappointing earnings results, which should give investors a perfect excuse to book some profits tomorrow.

All 10 major sectors finished the session higher led by basic materials and transportation. The CRB commodity index rose 1.8%. The US dollar was lower against most major currencies. Treasuries fell with the yield curve steepened. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged at 50 bps. The VIX index was little changed. The market breath was positive on both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was heavier compared to the previous session.

The market finished the Wednesday in a mixed fashion. The Nasdaq managed to post its 11th continuous gain, the longest winning streak since 1996. Volume, however, was quite light. It was also a light session in terms of economic news. Corporate earnings, for most part, beat expectations. We should note that the US companies are increasingly relying on sales from overseas market. A record 49% of total S&P 500 revenues are going to come from non-US markets. The percentage is expected to surpass 50% by the end of 2009. There is an interesting piece of article in this week's BusinessWeek magazine talking about China's overseas investment. In total, Chinese companies have invested $170 billion abroad and more than a third was from 2008 alone. By comparison, the US companies have employed over $5 trillion capital in their overseas operation.

Most major sectors finished the session modestly higher led by technology and consumer cyclical. The CRB commodity index was unchanged. The US dollar was lower against most major currencies. Treasuries fell with the yield curve steepened. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged at 50 bps. The VIX index was little changed. The market breath was neutral both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was lighter compared to the previous session.

The market continued to rise on Tuesday and both the S&P and the Nasdaq closed at a new high for the year. The Dow has gained for seven consecutive sessions while the Nasdaq's winning streak has reached ten. All five Dow components that reported earnings this morning beat earnings expectations. Revenues, however, were not as great in almost every situation. But good cost control is enough for the time being. Seperately, the Fed Chairman Bernanke said today in his semi-annual testimony before the House Financial Services Committee that "in light of the substantial economic slack and limited inflation pressures, monetary policy remains focused on fostering economc recovery". In other words, the Fed is going to keep the interest rate at a record low level for the foreseeable future.

Most major sectors finished the session higher led by healthcare and consumer cyclical. The CRB commodity index declined 0.5%. The US dollar was higher against most major currencies. Treasuries rose with the yield curve flattened. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged at 50 bps. The VIX index was little changed. The market breath was positive both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was slightly heavier compared to the previous session.

The market carried its positive momentum into the new week. By close, all three major indexes were up by more than 1%. It is hard to believe that just one week ago some were worrying about a retest to the March lows and barely a week later, we are sitting at the highest level for the year. The Nasdaq is the best performer among the big three and is up more than 20% year-to-date. In addition, its nine-consecutive-winning-streak was last seen in 1998. This week will be a light one in terms of economic news. But we still have plenty of earnings reports to deal with. As many as 30% of the S&P 500 companies and 40% of the Dow companies are scheduled to report their results during the week. So far, more than 80% of reported companies have beaten their expectations.

For the week ending on July 17th, most indexes are back above their 50-day moving averages. We should point out that the Nasdaq 100, which tracks the largest 100 companies listed in the Nasdaq, is close to the point that its 200-day moving averages will start to slope up within the next two weeks. Within the Nasdaq index, computer sector, joining the internet, has already seen its 200-day moving averages slope up. Sectorwise, many sectors saw double-digit gains in the past week. Commodity-related groups were especially strong. Defensive sectors such as healthcare were among the laggards.

All 10 major sectors finished the session higher led by basic materials and transportation. The CRB commodity index rose 1.4%. The US dollar was lower against most major currencies. Treasuries rose with the yield curve flattened. The three-month US LIBOR was unchanged at 50 bps. The VIX index was little changed. The market breath was positive both NYSE and Nasdaq. The volume was neutral compared to the previous session.