Bulls will not be denied, sending major market indices to their eight gain in nine sessions. The Dow ($INDU) added 108.30 points to a level of 9,791.71. The S&P 500 ($SPX) rose 16.13 points to 1,068.76. The Nasdaq ($COMPQ) tacked on 30.51 points, or 1.45 percent, to 2,133.15. Volume picked up on the session with the NYSE trading 1.58 billion shares and the Naz turning over 2.74 billion shares. Market breadth was positive on the session by a 25-to-5 and 19-to-8 margin on the Big Board and Naz respectively.

On Tuesday, industrial stocks led the way and this continued Wednesday following the release of the industrial production report for August. This report showed a gain of 0.8 percent, a tenth higher than expected. This was the second straight month of gains following eight months of declines. Recent data points to an end of the recession in the manufacturing sector, although production is down 10.7 percent year on year. There are concerns that the "cash for clunkers" program has been the reason for recent gains in industrial production. Shares of Caterpillar (CAT) continued to rise, up 1.78 percent $52.62. Alcoa (AA) also continued to rise, up 3.43 percent to $14.47.

Inflation pressures might become an issue down the road when the global economy starts to see marked improvement. However, at the moment, pricing pressures are not a worry. The consumer price index matched expectations for August, rising 0.4 percent overall and 0.1 percent at the core. This puts the headline figure down 1.4 percent year on year with the core rising 1.5 percent.

Adobe (ABDE) shares fell on the session on news the software maker has agreed to purchase Omniture (OMTR) for $1.8 billion. This values OMTR shares at $21.50 and the stock rallied 26.29 percent to close at $21.88. Shares of ADBE fell 6.4 percent to a price of $33.34. ADBE also reported earnings for the quarter that roughly matched expectations, though revenues and earnings fell.

General Electric (GE) shares, which are considered a proxy for the overall market, rose 6.25 percent Wednesday. The conglomerate benefited from an analyst upgrade and a break of resistance at $15. Financials also rallied today with American Express (AXP) and Bank of America (BAC) both hitting new highs for the year. AXP rallied 3.43 percent to $35.84 with BAC up 2.74 percent to $17.25.

Overall, the bulls just won't ease their grip on stocks, sending the SPX through resistance today on strong volume. Volumes are expected to be heavier this week given the return of traders from summer vacations and the fact Friday is quadruple witching.

Jody Osborne
Senior Writer & Options Strategist
Optionetics.com ~ Your Options Education Site