Institutional money has returned to the markets and U.S. stocks have been the main beneficiary. For the first half-hour of trade on Wall Street, the DJIA DOW (+100), S&P 500 SPX (+11), and NASDAQ (+40) are all in the green. Optimism is the early theme of this post-Memorial Day session, with traders gladly taking on fresh exposure to equities.

Shortly before today’s cash open, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index (YoY, March) was released to the public. The figure came in at 2.7%, above projections (2.6) but below February’s number (3.0%). This is an interesting development, as it suggests that there is still positive growth in home prices, yet the March gains are the weakest in seven years. Given the relative slump in commodity pricing, this is not great news for a strong U.S. economic cycle.

U.S. Stocks Rally On The Post-Holiday Open

The June E-mini S&P 500 has posted nice gains over the past three sessions. Prices are driving to the bull above 2835.00 and appear to be destined for a return to the 2850.00-2875.00 area.

Here are the levels to watch for the remainder of the session:

• Resistance(1): 38% Current Wave, 2839.50
• Resistance(2): Bollinger MP, 2862.50

Overview: At this point, it is difficult to tell which way the U.S. indices are going to break in the short-term. However, the daily bearish trend remains valid and I am a bit skeptical over the early day strength in U.S. stocks. Until we see a daily close at or above 2850.00, it is best to maintain a short side bias toward the June E-mini S&Ps.