But it will take more than an absence of bad news for the rally to proceed further.
Market volatility remained high last week, with stocks sinking early before rebounding on Thursday.
Stocks continued to face high levels of volatility last week as a strong rebound in prices early on gave way to renewed weakness by week's end.
Stocks were driven sharply lower late last week, with markets moving into nearpanic mode in the face of the escalating sovereign credit crisis and a lack of clear response on the part of European policymakers.
Last week was a difficult one for equity markets as ratings downgrades on European sovereign bonds raised fears of credit contagion.
Equities rallied for the first part of last week, reaching new highs for the current cycle on Thursday, before falling sharply on Friday on news that US regulators are suing Goldman Sachs over alleged fraud in connection with its collateralized debt obligation business.
The following is a weekly investment commentary by Bob Doll, vice chairman and chief equity strategist for fundamental equities at BlackRock Inc.
Equity markets notched positive returns again last week, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6% to 10,625, the S&P 500 Index advanced 1.0% to 1,150 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.8% to 2,368.
Last week was a strong one for risk assets, and for equities in particular, with the broad US averages entering positive territory for the first time since early January.
Despite some mixed data over the past couple of months, our view is that the global economic recovery remains on track, both in developed and emerging economies.
