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.

Today was a flat market day with the DJIA and the S&P off a small amount while NASDAQ gained a few points. But it was better than last week when all style/caps ended the week in the red. Large-cap value was down the least, at -0.8%, while small-cap value was down the most, at -1.11%. 

Four stocks that don't ordinarily make the cut for our institutional portfolios piqued my interest in today's market. One had only two analysts reporting estimates; all had dividends, but none were as high as 2%. For these reasons, they were eliminated from consideration for our institutional portfolios. Yet, all are interesting growth companies, reasonably priced, and in multiple sectors.