The Bearish Case Weakens

Well, as much as I hate to admit it, the case of a downfall in the market anytime soon took another blow. Recent strength in the market - especially in the face of what should be viewed as weak economic data - speaks for itself. I'm getting very close to the point that even I'll have to admit the bulls are firmly in control for the forseeable future. (And some stocks are just beyond belief - check out NTRI and HANS!)

The S&P 500 ETF, the SPY, is getting terribly close to crossing above its highs for this year. If that happens, that will be the final nail in the bear's coffin for the time being:



Some major ETFs have already crossed into new high territory. Particularly strong is the Nasdaq 100 ($NDX):



Also strong, and until recently a favorite short of mine, is the MidCap 400 ($MID):



So, as long as I'm sheepishly visiting the bullish camp, how about some specific suggestions? The stocks below are in technical formations that appear quite attractive; I suggest you check out the charts and see for yourself:

ABI - Applera Corp
RATE - BankRate
JCOM - J2 Global
KYPH - Kyphon
NOVL - Novell
RBAK - Redback Networks
VIGN - Vignette

It will take a pretty serious swan-dive for the market to clearly be bearish again. I hope that it happens, but remember, the word "speculate" is derived from the Latin verb "speculare". Which means "I observe", not "I hope....."