Stocks Enjoy Biggest Rally Since November Bottom

I have been saying I thought a big rally was out there, but I did not expect such a big one-day rally. The +6.4% gain in the S&p 500 is the biggest since last November.

The bank index surged +15.6%, while big GE bounced back +20%. And volume was very strong today, indicating conviction behind the move. Here is a quick summary on the day:

• Bank of America and General Electric were the most actively traded stocks on the Big Board. Bank of America was up 1.04 at 4.79. GE gained 1.46 to 8.87.
• Comments from a key congressman kept the party going in the afternoon. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, called for accounting and trading rule changes that could decrease market volatility and allow companies to value assets differently.
• The Dow soared 379 points to close at 6926.
• NYSE volume totaled nearly 2.2 billion shares.
• The S&P 500 was up 43 points.
• The Nasdaq gained 89. Advancing issues swamped decliners by 12-1 on the NYSE and by 5-1 on the Nasdaq.
• The 10-year Treasury note was down more than a point to yield 3.00%.

This rally should have more to go, such that I will look to add some (long) trading positions on any weakness. Past one-day bounces have given back the gains in relatively short order, so I will be looking for the market to add to today's gains to show me at least a near-term change in character.

Looking back at many past markets, March has often provided key pivot points. In March 2000, the last big bull market topped. And in March 2003, the last big bear market bottomed. I'm not saying yesterday was THE bottom, but it's possible.