Stocks Higher into Final Hour on Lower Energy Prices, Short-Covering, Less Economic Pessimism

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio is higher into the final hour on gains in my Medical longs, Software longs, Computer longs and Biotech longs. I covered all my (IWM)/(QQQQ) hedges and some of my (EEM) short this morning, thus leaving the Portfolio 100% net long. The overall tone of the market is bullish as the advance/decline line is higher, most sectors are rising and volume is around average. Investor anxiety is above-average, despite today’s market strength. Today’s overall market action is very bullish. The VIX is falling 4.7%, but remains above average at 21.7. The ISE Sentiment Index is a low 101.0 and the total put/call is an above-average .99. Finally, the NYSE Arms has been running above average most of the day and is currently .99. North Dakota and Montana have an estimated 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in an area known as the Bakken Formation. A U.S. Geological Survey assessment, released April 10, shows a 25-fold increase in the amount of oil that can be recovered compared to the agency's 1995 estimate of 151 million barrels of oil. The ISE Sentiment Index hit the second lowest level on record this morning at 32.0. The all-time low of 20.0 was seen on January 17, three days before the market’s January low. This is a significant positive. One of my largest long positions, Intuitive Surgical(ISRG), is rising 5.4% today and is near its record high of $359.59. Lazard Capital Markets rated the company a “buy” today and put a $420 target on the stock. I said a few years ago that (ISRG) would likely be one of the greatest growth stocks over the next decade and that analysts vastly underestimated its potential. I still believe this to be the case. The stock is up 601.8% over the last three years. Nikkei futures indicate an +155 open in Japan and DAX futures indicate an +70 open in Germany tomorrow. I expect US stocks to trade modestly higher into the close on short-covering, bargain hunting, less economic pessimism and lower energy prices.