Earnings are driving the testing of the top end for the S&P 500, but geopolitical issues are here to stay for some time. That will put downward pressure on the stock market.

It seems the storm is not going to be as strong as we feared and that was enough to take some of the selling pressure off stocks today. We are not likely to see real stock-buying this afternoon as most investors still want to see what happens with the storm during the weekend, but if damage is minimal, we might be bound for a rally on Monday.

Many market observers are coming out with the belief that the market will break upward after the election. Such strong consensus views often don't turn out to be a reality.

This may be one of those years in the stock market where you'll want to sell on Memorial Day and go away until Labor Day.

Energy is going to catch the attention of the market. It's probably a force that's not going to leave because we're in transition from concern about oil to concerns about natural gas and how that will affect consumer spending as we head into winter.

Big institutions are holding back their own capital. They're looking for an upside catalyst for stock prices. Any activity on the mergers and acquisition, buy-back or dividend fronts, mixed with good news out of energy or the Fed, would be a catalyst to bring the big institutions back into stock market.