On Thursday pro traders couldn't help but wonder if Apple and the rest of the stock market had permanently decoupled.
The S&P 500 inched higher for a sixth day in a row with the major market index flirting with 1,500, a level last reached Dec. 12, 2007.
Apple however traded poorly. The tech titan slipped below the psychologically important $500 level, with shares now down about 25% over only 3 months.
Can the market continue to rally without its most valuable company?
Strategy Session with the Fast Money traders
Trader Stephanie Link, director of research at TheStreet, thinks it can. She called the gains "very impressive." Link reminded the desk new economic data suggests the economy continues to improve. "Initial jobless claims are at a 5 year low and China flash PMI came in better than expected," she said. Data points such as those she said matters much more to the market than the price action of Apple.
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Trader Joe Terranova, chief market strategist for Virtus, said much the same. "Today's rally is a powerful statement."
Trader Jon Najarian, co-founder OptionMonster.com, added that pros who insisted the market couldn't rally without Apple are now licking their wounds. That's a mistake they won't make again.
Trader Stephen Weiss, managing partner at Short Hills Capital, is also bullish. He believes the forthcoming jobs number will be better than expected and as a result he thinks it will drive stocks even higher. His only caveat is that there's a great deal of bullish sentiment in the market – and that can be a contrarian indicator.
Gina Martin Adams of Wells Fargo, sees the market a little differently. "I'm still pretty bearish," she admitted. Adams points to earnings which have be relatively weak as compared to other quarters. "It's tough for me to look through earnings that are this weak," she said.
Trader disclosure: On January 24,2013, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to bementioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "FastMoney" traders; Stephen Weiss is long RIMM; Stephen Weiss is long TBF; Stephen Weiss is longAAPL; Stephen Weiss is long SCCO; Stephen Weiss is long QCOM; Joe Terranova is long VRTS; JoeTerranova is long AAPL; Joe Terranova is long GS; Joe Terranova is long AXP;Joe Terranova is long MS; Joe Terranova is long GLW; Joe Terranova is longDELL; Joe Terranova is long SWN; Joe Terranova is long XOM; Joe Terranova islong RIMM $17 PUTS; Joe Terranova is long AAPL $460 PUTS; Jon Najarian is long RIMM CALLS;Jon Najarian is long GOOG CALLS; Jon Najarian is long PAY; Jon Najarian isshort PAY Calls; Jon Najarian is long NVDA CALLS; Jon Najarian is long DNDNCALLS; Jon Najarian is long UAL; Jon Najarian is long DAL; Stephanie Link is long AAPL;Stephanie Link is long GS; Stephanie Link is long WFC; Stephanie Link is longCSCO; Stephanie Link is long SBUX; Stephanie Link is long BRCM
For Steve Milunovich
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