It was a solid start to the week on Monday as all the major indices rallied higher:

• Dow +85 points
• S&P 500 +11 points
• NASDAQ +28 points
• Russell 2000 (best percentage gainer) +11 points

The big winner was crude oil with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) up $0.96 or 2.0% as Russia and Saudi Arabia are willing to extend the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production cuts.  A close above $50.00 could spark a major breakout with a leg higher.

There were several storylines and narratives during the session, including cyber stocks and homebuilders. In a rare occurrence, all the 11 sectors within the S&P 500 traded higher.

Buying Ahead of Earnings Releases

There were other signs of market optimism that matter even more for investors.

Message of the Market: Confidence

With only a few earnings report left in this cycle of releases, Wall Street took a very bullish stance yesterday.  Consider the action ahead of releases:

• (CSCO) Cisco +2.3% as eight million more shares changed hands than the daily average
• (AMAT) Applied Materials +2.0% on three million more shares than normal
• (ADSK) Autodesk rallied today and is surging in after-hours trading
• (RRGB) Red Robin Gourmet Burgers +2.8% on more than two times its average daily volume

These are major moves on convincing volume that I would say is more about honest number-crunching than guesswork. 

Investors entered earnings season with a fair amount of anxiety, and they exited with a little swagger and a little pep in their step. 

However, in the fourth quarter of 2014, corporate profits climbed to a record 1.7 trillion and spiraled into a free fall that crumbled to less than $1.4 trillion a year later.  With more than 90% of companies reporting for the first quarter in U.S. corporate profits, they are on pace for a new all-time record.

Today's Session

The major indices are set to continue their winning streak.  New data on housing starts, out this morning, shows a decline of 2.6% to 1.17 million annual units versus the estimate for 1.26 million due in large part to a 9.2% drop in multi-family construction. Permits were down 2.5% to 1.23 million, but is still 5.7% higher than a year ago.