Tuesday situation

Stocks rose for six straight weeks, propelling the S&P 500 by 29% as investors bet that the economy is closer to stabilizing. That same optimism is lifting stocks now, but will peter out if the economic and corporate news doesn't start to improve, said Dean Barber, president at Barber Financial Group.

"This is a classic bear market rally," Barber said. "People want to say that the market is telegraphing that the recession will soon be over, but there isn't anything fundamental that supports that."

He said that the rally is being driven partly by the vast amounts of cash sitting on the sidelines and the lack of appealing options, due to low-yielding money market accounts and short-term bond yields.

Market breadth Tuesday was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers four to one on volume of almost 1.67 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners three to one on volume of 2.45 billion shares.