Market Resilience: Good Sign for the Bulls

You have to hand it the market. The bulls have the upper hand for now, even though uncertainty is alive and well when it comes to fiscal-cliff talks on Capitol Hill. Basically, Republicans and Democrats are telling each other to get serious about each other's proposals. That's pretty much where we're at for now. On Bloomberg yesterday, President Obama said there won't be a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" unless Republicans agree to raise tax rates on the wealthiest Americans. Both sides remain far apart, but the market's trading like it's expecting a deal before the end of the year. When it comes to overall market health, there's more to like than not to like at this point. The Nasdaq Composite is up nearly 6% since its November 16 low and there's been very little distribution (institutional selling) in the market up since the rally started. There's been only one meaningful decline in higher volume for the Nasdaq and S&P 500 since major averages flashed a mild buy signal on November 23. That said, both indices are meeting with initial resistance at their respective 50-day simple moving averages (SMAs). This isn't unexpected, but it's not likely it will result in extended period of weakness for the market. There's still a lot of good going on beneath the surface. The market continues to serve up a fair amount of technical breakouts in heavy volume. New market rallies need new leadership. Yesterday, it was DSW's

turn as shares popped 4% to $70.52, clearing its recent high of $69.35. The move was fueled by news that private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners -- which specializes in retail buyouts -- disclosed an increased stake in the footwear retailer. Other upside breakouts in recent days include eBay

, Hertz Global

, Family Dollar Stores

, HDFC Bank

and Commvault Systems

. My Ultimate Growth Stocks model portfolio, available on Marketfy, currently has seven long positions and one short position. To see the current makeup of my model portfolio and also what's on my watch list, go to this link: http://marketfy.com/store/item/ultimate-growth-stocks/