The Coming Week: An Eye on Prices

"It's an exhausted market," said Awad, who noted that stocks had a big run-up from March 2003 to January 2004. "That huge move accurately forecast the recovery in the economy in 2004, and the lethargy in the market since then predicts the uncertainty about 2005. We'll stay this way until the fuzziness comes into better focus."

Investors also will focus intensely on how high rates and inflation could impact stock valuation, which Awad predicted will cause the market to struggle until September.

Also contributing to the lack of the market's direction has been increased attention to Iraq, as reports have recently surfaced of American troops abusing Iraqi prisoners, which may not ultimately bode well for the Bush administration. Because Wall Street is largely Republican, the news is starting to hurt Bush, said Awad, who called it "a light weight around the market's neck."

Further, he said, "You run the risk of giving consumers, investors and business people a mild headache that you're always getting deaths in the background in Iraq."

Looking at the week's specific data points, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will speak at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Money Smart Conference in Chicago on Thursday at 11 a.m. EDT.

Wednesday's economic data include international trade numbers and import/export index numbers for March. The trade balance is expected to be a deficit of $42.6 billion, up slightly from a deficit of $42.1 billion in February. That same day, the federal budget for April will be released; analysts are expecting it to come in at $46.8 billion.

On Thursday, the producer price index for April comes out at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Economists are expecting a 0.3% increase from a 0.5% increase in March. Core PPI is seen rising 0.2%, compared to a 0.2% rise last month. April retail sales also will be released; the consensus is for a 0.1% increase on top of a 1.8% rise last month.