On Thursday, was market was volatile in the morning session. The S&P opened up +6 points, then it fell -11 points in the first 30 minutes. For the remainder of the day, the market settled down and traded inside the high and low of the morning session. This was a day where shares changed hands, but the market made no real progress up or down.

The Nasdaq gained +21 points (+0.52%), the S&P rose +3 points (0.17%), and the Dow closed dead even (16,051). Volume was higher today, despite the lack of directional conviction. Advancers and decliners were about evenly matched. Up volume and down volume had a 1-to-1 ratio.

In economic reports, jobless claims ticked up to 329,000 (the expected number was 315,000). Durable goods orders were up, a sign of buyer confidence (durable goods are cars, washers/dryers, computers, etc).

Geopolitically, Russia is beginning military exercises on the Ukrainian border. There are reports that Ukranian military forces killed 3-5 pro Russian protestors. Russia is likely to use any major clash as a reason to move into eastern Ukraine and establish a foothold. This would mainly affect European interests.