The market pattern so far in 2012 is clear: fade the open. If it's weak early, buy. If it opens strong, sell

The market enjoyed a nice move today, but it all came at the open. We had no traction intraday, which is exactly what happened on Jan. 3, when we kicked off the new year with a big early gap.

We are up nearly 3% in a week but it all came overnight. Even though all the gains came at the open, it was an extremely strong day. Breadth was better than 3-to-1 positive, and all major sectors, particularly oil and commodity-related names, did well.

The main thing to keep in mind about action like this is that it creates a lot of underlying bids. Those who get caught underinvested tend to become aggressive dip-buyers, especially since many of them are suffering from underperformance.

Once again, we're in a very familiar place. The indices are acting well, but don't have convincing volume or momentum.