- Next Stop 14,000?

Market Summary
The markets sprung higher last week and, as a result, they have been sent back into record territory. Upbeat retail sales, positive earnings outlooks and major merger announcements all helped fuel the optimism and the Dow is now within striking distance of the psychological 14,000 barrier. As you can see from the charts below, many analysts started the week off wondering if there was a triple top pattern forming on the charts of the major indexes, but this view was quickly negated by Thursday's extremely bullish price action. The recent break into record territory will likely cause many traders to think that the period of consolidation is over and that the trek upward will continue. This view may be hard to swallow for the bears, but the record highs show that the bulls are in control of the momentum and that it could be costly to trade against the prevailing trend.