The following EOD commentary from Goldman's S&T desk pretty much summarizes how everyone feels.
All’s well that ends unchanged (again) in equities. Today’s rally into the close doesn’t match yesterday’s rip, but neither did today’s selloff match yesterday’s. Unclear what drove the rally back, perhaps the Monti headlines (though not from how I read them) or perhaps simply seller’s fatigue (though not judging by our flow). Long-only accounts small better to buy, but hedge funds much better sellers all day – cash, ETFs, and downside options. Tech meaningfully underperforms, down 1.1%. SPX up 2 to close 1321 (+.14%). The DOW up 34 to close 12530 (+.27%). The NASDAQ drops 11 to close 2839 (-.38%).
Luckily we still have 4 full weeks of comparable inexplicable market action, courtesy of one Brian Sack (and those Citadel white knights of course - wonder why they posted a loss on a simple Facebook [6]IPO, but never during regular trading hours? And why the ongoing uber secrecy surrounding the firm's HFT division... Why indeed), before his full transition out of Liberty 33 is finalized.