Voltaire,I cannot suggest what will happen in the short-term as...

Voltaire,

I cannot suggest what will happen in the short-term as that is not my area of expertise. The focus on much of this thread is short-term trend, whereas I look at 3-6 month time-frames.

I don't disagree that there could be a short-term dip or consolidation of sorts, but we have many strong forces that will push the markets upwards.

One thing that I've noticed is that in our market, many smaller cap stocks - say $250m to $2b - appear ready for an upswing (at least based on the way I view it).

With regards to put/call, I cannot see it being a definitive indicator in this case. Over a longer time period, it appears that the current environment is much more similar to the 2003-07 period than the 2007-11 period. During 2007/08 the ratio was unsustainable and ripe for a big correction.

The best indicator of sentiment that I can see at the moment is the NAAIM survey, which shows that money managers have been bearish and could indicate a market bottom.

Also, whilst it has been used by Zero Hedge to confirm their bearish bias, the US equity mutual fund flows also supports a bullish outlook - as there is a lot of money on the sidelines. If funds return to the markets, it could push prices up rapidly. I view this as the 'dumb-money'.