The Bulls' Double Charge

Early bullish resistance to a number of negatives threatened to turn into a full-blown retreat Tuesday afternoon after the S&P 500 breached key support at 920. But the bullish resistance -- epitomized by the "buy the dips" mentality -- resurfaced again in the final hour, leaving major averages just a hair below breakeven.

After trading as high as 8550.26 shortly before 10 a.m. EDT and as low as 8416.72 around 3 p.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended off 0.02% to 8491.36. Following similar patterns, the S&P 500 finished off 0.1% at 919.73 vs. its intraday high of 925.34 and low of 912.05, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.1% to 1491.09 vs. its best of 1505.18 and nadir of 1480.13.

Offsetting better-than-expected earnings from Home Depot , which many cited for the market's early strength, were ongoing consternation about the dollar -- which fell anew, the government raising its terror-alert level, and more concern about big pharmaceuticals. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index lost another 1.2% after dropping 4.4% Monday following the Supreme Court's decision to not block Maine's plan to reduce the cost of prescription drugs.

There were even reports of an isolated case of so-called Mad Cow disease in Canada, which weighed on (among others) shares of Tyson Foods , McDonald's (MCD) and Wendy's (WEN); each fell between 5% and 6.5%.

On the surface, Tuesday ended up looking like a "nothing" day for the averages. But the comeback in the final hour was impressive, given the litany of negatives and particularly after Monday's sharp setback. I'll have more about this and a look into the current mindset of Wall Street's punditry early Wednesday.

Outside of equities, the historic move in Treasuries continued Tuesday with the price of the benchmark 10-year note soaring 1 4/32 to 102 9/32, its yield sliding to 3.35%. The latest rally was spurred, in part, by rumors the Federal Reserve might cut rates prior to its next scheduled meeting on June 24-25. Medley Global Advisors, which provides insight on political-economic issues to institutional clients, was cited as a source for such speculation. The firm's spokeswoman did not return calls seeking comment.