Bull Market to continue?

Great article on cnn about the stock market and the economy that I thought I would share. These things play a big part in our forex trading business. All news in the financial markets is important news!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- With little on the docket to challenge investor optimism, the defiantly bullish stock market is looking to extend its staggering run in the week ahead.

And why not? Wall Street has shaken off pervasive calls for a September selloff and warnings about the still-struggling economy, managing frequent, fresh 2009 highs of late. The Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq composite have all ended higher in 9 of the last 11 sessions.

The petering out of certain government programs in the last two months of the year and the possibility that third-quarter financial reports will disappoint are real concerns -- so is the reality of a still-brutal job market and change in consumer attitudes toward spending versus saving. But these longer-term worries aren't likely to dominate in the week ahead.

"As long as the economic news keeps pointing up, the market is likely to post more gains in the near-term," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial Group.

"However, given the rate of ascent in recent days, investors should be prepared for a pullback before too long," he said. "Anything that could disrupt the positive outlook could spell trouble."

Since bottoming at a 12-year low March 9, the S&P 500 has gained 58% and the Dow has gained 50%. Since bottoming at a six-year low, the Nasdaq has gained 68%.

The advance has been driven by extraordinary amounts of fiscal and monetary stimulus and a growing sense of optimism about the economy.

But that optimism may be misplaced, said Robert Loest, portfolio manager at Integrity Funds, and he said stocks could be in for a bigger selloff a few months out. "I don't think we've seen a rebound of this magnitude following a crash and I'm suspicious."

"This is not the time for investors to be getting into stocks but to be taking profits," he said. "I think this rally can go another five weeks or so, but not three months or six months."