The chart shows how tightly impacted the stock market has become. At Wednesday’s high, the Dow had achieved no net gain since early December. My hunch is that the broad averages are carving out a broad top, although strictly speaking there is no compelling reason to believe that the sideways action since early February is not a consolidation. If so, it would portend a rally to at least 18517 (p2) or to 18830 if any higher.  Does the stock market have at least one last upsurge left? The possibility is hardly farfetched, since numerous tech stocks favored by institutional investors look like they are in holding patterns, awaiting a rally signal from on high (i.e., from mahogany-paneled aeries above the 60th floor in the Battery).

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