Well the Doc is back and not a moment too soon.  The coming weeks will probably be a battle between fundamental and technical traders in Equity land.

Over the past couple of weeks, some incredibly aggressive actions taken by the Fed have managed to keep the downside pressure on the US Equity market at bay.  In fact the stability and modest gains achieved by the major Indexes have gotten many media mongers to jump on the “we’ve bottomed” band wagon.  Well, the exuberance may not be unfounded as the world of technical patterns has come to form somewhat of a bullish outlook over the near term.  However pure technicals without solid fundamentals are suspect.

Despite the more positive tone achieved in Equity land, the fundamental picture as been dire.  Jobless Claims have jumped to recession levels, the employment report was soft again, housing remains anemic and consumer confidence is plummeting.  The coming week should be somewhat mild for releases of new economic data, however corporate earnings season will be emerging and this is the other realm of fundamental news that will test the markets.  If you’re a pure technical trader, you’re probably positive on Stocks, but buyer should still beware, as these technical indicators could use a shot in the arm from fundamentals.  Without it…it could be a nasty tug of war.