The 200-day moving average props up the S&P and stops the bleeding.
On Friday, equities rallied off of the lowest level since August. Although many offices closed Monday to mark Veterans Day, the stock market is open for normal trading hours.
(Related: Can Veteran Small Businesses Jumpstart the Economy?)
The market may be up on assurances we heard from some congressional leaders over the weekend that the U.S. won't go over the "fiscal cliff." My take? Don't hold your breath, because history tends to repeat itself. Am I the only one who remembers the debt ceiling debacle?
(Read More: What Is the 'Fiscal Cliff?')
The Greek saga continues as well. Still, we got good news on Sunday, when the Greek parliament approved its 2013 budget. This will hopefully allow Eurozone officials to approve the next Greek bailout payment by the end of November and that should help stabilize the market a bit.
(See: Greece's 'Monster' Debt Problem Haunts Europe.)
At home, we will not see any significant data until Wednesday, when we will get retail sales and PPI.
Also on Wednesday, which is two days closer to the "fiscal cliff," President Barack Obama will have a press conference. Let's see if there is any compromise from either side.
I will also focus on German Economic Sentiment numbers, which will be released Tuesday. After all, poor data out of Germany last week helped send equities into a tailspin.
If it sounds like the market has many obstacles, it does. My prediction is that the S&P 500 index stays in a wide, sweeping range until year's end.
Translation: This will be a great time in which to "trade" — and not a great time to invest.
Read on for 10 Things You Need to Know to Trade Futures
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