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The market is hovering at a high level within bad breath distance of the all-time high. But that factoid is deceiving. The market really has not gone anywhere but sideways for about two months.

Energy and technology are no longer driving the market higher. As a result, the S&P 500 is kind of moving sideways.

The market continues to stumble sideways. On the one hand, the S&P 500 is within a whisker of the all-time high. On the other hand, stocks have been going sideways for about a month.

Earnings have been sensational. Reported earnings for S&P 500 companies have grown an average of 2% in the fourth quarter, compared to an expected -11%.

The New Year is a wild one so far in the market with big up and down swings. The Dow was down big Monday and it’s up big today as bank stocks have caught fire.

The second quarter ends today. GDP growth is forecasted to be 8.6% for the quarter, one of the best on record. Earnings for the S&P 500 is expected to grow over 60% over last year’s second quarter.

The market looks like it wants to change its stripes and morph into something else. But it’s not there yet.

We still don’t know who the president is... But the market loves it. The Dow is up over 700 points and the S&P 500 is up over 3% on the day.

The market has gotten a little choppy and interest rates are to blame. At least, that’s what they say. The market indexes fell last week and have been all over the place so far this week.

What a difference a week makes. It’s been a reversal of fortunes. Technology stocks are soaring and energy stocks are pulling back.

How about this market? Even with the technology sector still in a funk and the huge energy sector rally abating, the S&P 500 just made a new all-time high anyway.

The fourth quarter earnings season is well under way and the results have been somewhat spectacular so far, and much better than expected.

The market is in nowheresville. The S&P 500 is at the same level it was in early April. But the index isn’t really down. It’s only 1% below the all-time high. It’s not that the market is going down. It just stopped going up.

The market just keeps marching higher despite increasing skepticism.

The market still looks strong. But it’s getting a little harder to figure out.

After falling 34% in record time, the S&P 500 has recouped more than half of the losses. As of this writing, the market is down just 15% from the February highs. The S&P 500 is now back to the same level it was at this past October. Clearly the market is optimistic about the speed and strength of the economic restart. And the market usually gets it right.

In short, it looks like there will be a tug-o’-war with good news and bad news at least up until the election. I expect the market will continue to bounce around in that time frame. However, there could be great things for the market beyond the election and the pandemic. The forecast is choppiness now, and a bull run later.

There is good news out there. The country is starting to reopen the economy. Sure, there is a political debate, and certain hot spots aren’t ready to reopen yet. But the urgent push to restart this economy is undeniable.

The final tally is in, and it was a November for the ages. The Dow Jones Industrial average was up 11.8% for November, making it the best month for the index since 1987. The S&P 500 climbed 10% while the Nasdaq gained another 11% for the month. History clearly shows that November was a spectacular month. What happened?

The raging bull market took a breather. The S&P 500 actually pulled back 7% from the high at the peak of the recent Labor Day selloff. But that seems to be over. The market has since regained some traction and appears to be resuming an uptrend.