Stocks Flat After Yesterday's Strong Rebound

The market is roughly flat on no real news announcements. Google (GOOG) is lower after shifting its search engine off mainland China, but this has been expected for awhile.

Existing home sales last month came in about as expected, falling -0.6% vs. last year. The other commentary on the economy came from St. Louis Fed Pres James Bullard, who said that labor data should look better in March, and that the economic recovery is on track as household spending improves and business investment continues to pick up.

The dollar is stronger so far, but this is barely weighing on commodities. Oil is flat near $81.50, while gold is trading higher to $1105.

Asian markets were mixed overnight; the 10-year yield is down to 3.65%; and the VIX is a tad higher to 16.91, after a big reversal lower yesterday.

Trading comment: Yesterday's strength was surprising, and again indicative to me that there is money looking to be put to work. The market was weak after the open yesterday, and it looked like a pullback was in the cards. But buyers quickly stepped in, and the market rallied to close with solid gains. Although we could again get a 1-2 day whack at any time, I continue to feel that this could be the pattern into quarter-end, as portfolio managers don't want to look too underinvested.

long GOOG