What a Week: Minor Tremors

The Democratic wins in the midterm election this week washed over Wall Street markets like a gentle wave rather than the tsunami felt in Washington. The real $64 trillion question is not what the election means for stocks, but when is this market going to correct already?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has gone over 900 days without a 10% correction -- the fourth longest stretch in its history. The May market downturn sent the major averages down no more than 7% before a rebound commenced. This week, the Dow hit new all-time intraday and closing highs and finished up 1% for the week to 12,106.35 after a very modest rally Friday. The S&P 500 finished the day up 0.2%, and 1.2% on the week, to close at 1380.77. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6% Friday to 2389.72, up 2.5% on the week, led by big gains in Cisco Systems (CSCO Quote).

With bullish sentiment still running high, angst about when and how a "real" correction might happen has returned to the market. ...