Talk about an undecided market. In four of the past five days, the closing range of the S&P 500 (SPX) is 13.6 points. That is two-tenths of 1% based on the price of the index. For the Nasdaq, the range in four out of five days is 14.76 points or eight one-hundredths of 1%. The Nasdaq 100's (QQQ) range has been 0.83 points or two-tenths of 1%. The Nasdaq and the QQQ tested their 21-day exponential a few times and remain perilously close to breaking that average, while the SPX has come close to the average on several occasions intraday. Third-quarter EPS season starts this week, with PEP, INFY, DAL, JPM, WFC, PGR, BLK, and BK all reporting. The big financials come at the end of the week and into next week. The next three weeks will be very heavy with earnings reports. Just prior to and just after earnings reports, companies are in a blackout period. During that time, a company cannot repurchase its stock. So in April/early May, July/early August, October/early November, and January/early February, there is an absence of demand that can create weakness in the overall market. First-quarter 2024 share buybacks on the S&P 500 were $237 billion and for the 12-months ending March 2024, buybacks were $817 bill