Pretty Nice Price Action

I think most people thought today would be a lackluster day. But while volume was fairly light, the price action wasn't bad.

The SPX gained +0.5%, as did the COMP, but the RUT (small-caps) rallied +1.2%. Not bad. And all of the major sectors were positive, including energy (+1.1%), homebuilders (+1.8%), semis (+0.7%), and banks (+0.9%).

The pickup in M&A activity should help the market, as the wave of takeovers we are seeing often generates interest in the market as investors try to anticipate who might be next in the bidding war of consolidation.

It is still a toss-up how stocks will react to the FOMC announcement on Thursday, and whether quarter-end on Friday will help keep a bid under stocks.
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