Today’s major indices ended in the black, and we believe the market is more likely to continue to go up than down over the remainder of the year. That said, the market is being buffeted by a number of strong headwinds. 

The Syrian crisis tops the list, with the expected outcome changing almost hourly. Surprises have been frequent. The British decided against involvement. President Obama decided to go to Congress.  Congress is waffling as usual, but Obama is getting a little more support than initially expected.

Overall, earnings reports have continued to beat the low bar of expectations.

Stock investors are protecting gains and holding off on deploying cash as concerns abound about central banks, including the Federal Reserve, tapering off on their stimulus programs, i.e., money printing. Low-interest policies and quantitative easing have been the driving force for economic recovery while pushing return-hungry investors into equities by default.

The market went through some gyrations on Wednesday in reaction to Fed Chairman Bernanke’s testimony before the Joint Economic Committee. He first defended continued quant easing by warning, “A premature tightening of monetary policy could lead interest rates to rise temporarily but also would carry a substantial risk of slowing or ending the economic recovery.” Stocks dutifully rallied and all major indexes hit new intraday highs.

Well, you gotta hand it to the bears; they are pulling out all stops in their effort to derail the bull train, just as the S&P 500 tries to eclipse its all-time high. This time they trotted out the tiny republic of Cyprus (pop. 1.1 million) and its battle with the EU over the terms of its financial bailout. Steal a big chunk of depositors’ accounts?

Stocks are inching ever forward, but investors are showing plenty of indecisiveness along the way. They might be suffering from acrophobia—fear of heights. Their trepidation is reflected not only in the ongoing price consolidation as the major market averages struggle at long-term highs, but also in the extremely low trading volume.