On Wall Street, every Friday is Whoopee Cushion Day, as we know, so the 139-point rally in the Dow should have surprised no one. Spirited as the buying was, however, it still left room for a little more fun and games next week. Specifically, my minimum objective for the Industrial Average is 11627, exactly 50 points above Friday’s close. That’s not a “hula number,” mind you, just a solid-looking hidden pivot with the potential to end the delusional spree begun by bulls in late 2002.

We’ll of course be looking for a way to get short with little at risk when the DJIA reaches the target. But if Friday’s experience taught us anything, it is that put options are likely to be a tad pricier than we should like when the Dow kisses 11627. We were in fact bidding for some Diamond puts on Friday around mid-day, but even as stocks continued to rise, the put options on this vehicle held stubbornly aloft. It was as though would-be sellers of puts were growing increasingly reluctant to part with them as the broad averages worked their way higher. How can you blame them?

Well, we may just have to pay up a little to get short at the top. Indeed, my very strong feeling is that once the market starts to unravel – and this will almost certainly occur when most of us are sleeping – there won’t be a put offer in sight. So it’s either buy ‘em now, when they are just slightly to somewhat overpriced, or don’t buy ‘em at all.