I hesitate to say there is a "normal" pattern to market price movement, but whenever the market runs hard to the upside, many traders start to get nervous and expect a correction. And the harder the run upward, the correction is feared to be even more severe. This market has indeed run hard to the upside, with the S&P 500 up 12% so far this year. But the expected correction has not occurred. Instead, we have seen a pattern of positive days and then just some slow sideways moves or slight declines. It has been just enough to burn off some of the market excesses. Today SPX pulled back $7 to close at $1406 and RUT closed down $6 to $834. But notice how the weak days never really threaten the solid support levels of the indexes. Trading volume bumped up today with 2.8 billion shares of the S&P 500 trading. Trading on the NYSE was up 12% and volume was also up 6% on NASDAQ.

The VIX closed virtually unchanged at 15.5%; it spiked up above 17% briefly this morning, but then pulled back. So volatility remains relatively low. Is that good? Or is it the lull before the storm?

Durable orders jumped up 2.2% in February - a big improvement over the 3.8% drop the previous month. But analysts had predicted an even higher gain, so that disappointment may have helped dampen enthusiasm on the street today.

My April iron condor on RUT at 700/710 and 910/920 stands at a net gain of $2,320 with delta = -$5 and theta = +$50 (20 contract position).

Have you noticed AAPL and GOOG? They are on quite a run - nothing new for AAPL. I bought some of the Jan 2013 AAPL $445 LEAPS calls back in January and that has been an exhilerating ride. I point this out because it is tempting to look in the rear view mirror and say "I should have bet the farm on those calls". But that is a good way to lose your farm...