Dow Watch: Higher With Meredith's Help

(At 4:33 p.m. EDT)

Monday's rally on the Dow was indeed a strong one, thanks to Meredith Whitney's call on Goldman Sachs (GS Quote), as I mentioned earlier. The blue chip average jumped 185 points to 8331, finishing at its highest point of the session.

There are still a few things for bulls to remember, though. As I said earlier, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters on earnings estimates are not painting a pretty picture. In addition, despite climbing nearly 200 points in one day, the Dow is barely above where it started last week. In fact, the index is still in negative territory for the month of July, down 116 points.

It's not all bad. It was a good sign to see leadership in financial stocks, especially ahead of key earnings reports from several bank stocks this week. Even though financials were the clear winner Monday, all 30 Dow components finished with gains. We may be stuck in a trading range, but winning sessions like today are certainly welcome, especially with every company participating. ...