The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. It is 26 degrees and cloudy here in Upstate NY. The weather logos suggest a slight warming trend through the weekend and some sunshine. I hope you had a good Christmas yesterday, we had a nice dinner with friends. I tried to not overeat and I think I succeeded. Yours truly is still on the mend from surgery last Friday. I must say the Laparoscopic method really does cut down on the lazing about time. I am walking better and better each day and I suspect in about a week I will be able to walk very normally and for a reasonable distance. The entire healing process for an inguinal hernia is about three months as the mesh used to repair the abdominal wall needs to literally scar over.

  At 8:35 a.m. ET futures are moderately higher and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open higher.

  Generally speaking the articles suggest that investors are pleased with two strong factors in the Wall Street economy. From the investors point of view, strong corporate earnings along with continued quantitative easing spell rally. Meanwhile the rest of us are just silently watching wondering when the room to move runs out as the Christmas bull run continues this morning.

CNN: Stocks: U.S. futures tilt higher Thursday

The broad rally puts the Dow on track for its best year since 2003 and the S&P 500 on pace for its best year since 1997.

This year's gains have been driven by ongoing economic stimulus from the Federal Reserve, increased confidence in the economy, solid corporate earnings growth, and more individual investors entering the stock market.