Inching Toward the Next Cliff

More white noise. Rallies like today’s 212-pointer in the Dow barely register a blip on the intraday charts, let alone on the ‘daily’.  From a technical standpoint, a thousand-point upthrust by week’s end wouldn’t change the big picture, although it might bring some bravado back to Wall Street for a moment or two.  Regardless, it all feels like distribution, and that feeling is certain to become palpable one day soon, when two dozen days’ worth of piddling gains will be erased before East Coast traders get to their desks. For now, though, I’d suggest tuning out any guru who’s saying “something BIG!” is about to happen.  Maybe. But if you bet on it, be sure you get long odds.