The S&P 500 Index finally turned in a positive number for the new year, rising $11 to close at $1838. RUT followed suit with a ten dollar increase to $1158. Trading volume expanded with 2.2 billion shares of the S&P 500 stocks trading today; trading volume increased 11% on the NYSE but was flat on NASDAQ.

Volatility continued to decline with a little more than a half point drop to 12.9% on the VIX.

Today's gains were significant; SPX recovered about half of its losses since the first of the year in one day. Support at $1810 remains the level to watch for a pullback, while a break above resistance at $1850 would suggest a return to rally mode for the bulls. RUT has been trading in a more narrow range, bouncing off support at $1147; but it couldn't hold its high today at $1160. One of the market measures I watch is the difference between new highs and new lows on the NYSE. While that indicator was steadily declining toward the end of 2013, it appears to be rebounding the last two days. It almost seems as though the market hears all of the CNBC gurus predicting correction and is determined to defy the conventional wisdom. We'll see.