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It's no secret the Fed is expected to provide some sort of guidance regarding monetary policy in a few hours. Depending on when I finish today's edition and when it finally gets to you, the markets could be in some sort of frenzy by then. We could have waited until the Fed opened his mouth to decide what to talk about and publish, however, there is a method to our madness. This is our way of letting you know whatever the Fed does, we really don't think it's going to matter, especially for the grand scheme of the markets.

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What was the ceiling during the latter half of August has since become the floor. At least for the NASDAQ anyway. Both the NDX and the COMP continue to chip away at the week's low in what appears to be an attempt to take this market lower. Interesting because these same indexes spent the last few weeks of August chipping away at that same level, but from underneath. The markets need to make up their minds and do it in a hurry before everyone decides to pack it in and look for other ways to invest their money. Yes, there's a bit a cynicism there and I am slightly kidding, but let's get real here. This market needs some direction and needs it fast.

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As much as I love the summer, once Labor Day weekend is over, things do get a lot more exciting than those relaxing outdoor activities. We've now got a full blown return to the markets from active investors and professionals, we've got the NFL season heating up, MLB postseason and of course for my fellow horse fans, Breeder's Cup in the Fall. Does it really get any better than that? Feel free to disagree with me on any of the above with exception to the cavalry return to the markets.

It takes an awful lot of conviction to stage a rally like the one we all experienced yesterday. It's important to note, the last time we had a day like that in the markets was two days after we hit bottom in early June, which turned out to be the catalyst for a mid-term rally that took all summer long to erase losses the major indexes incurred from April and May. Is that a coincidence? I don't think so. We made it pretty clear last week that once we got past Labor Day, things would definitely start heating up. Although it took a few days, yesterday's move now gives us something to work with instead of a bunch of anemic sideways trading that not only makes it difficult to trade for profits, it's also like watching paint dry.

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What a difference a day makes. The major indexes across the board are cheering over the ECB's new bond buying program to help keep the cost of borrowing down for struggling economies across Europe. At least that's the perception anyway. I think the reality is on more of a weekly and monthly charting basis, stocks have most definitely had the wind at their back. Here's why.

If you have a look at this monthly chart of the ^NDX I've included here, you'll notice every time the ^NDX has traded below the 3X3 (blue line), it has managed to close back above it within three bars ever since the rally initiated itself back in the spring of '09. I've circled the three different occasions this has taken place since the rally began. That's what we call thrusting. And, there's no reason to think at this point that anything is going to change. As a matter of fact, the most recent monthly pullback wasn't even as weak as the last one. As long as we see follow through, this market could go nuts when it's all said and done.

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Good afternoon fellow traders. I'm sure by now you've seen how the market's waffling right around where it closed yesterday, which was roughly in line with where it closed Friday, which also happens to be where it was trading in the middle of August. Welcome to the September snooze. This time though, we're sleepwalking through September against a backdrop of mixed economic messages.

Yes, I've got an update on our bigger-picture outlook for you below. After that, however, I also want to take a look at why September has such a bad rap when it comes to the stock market. Funny thing... my current pessimistic opinion may be 100% supported by the calendar.