After a nasty morning sell-off, stocks bounced sharply off the morning lows in the afternoon, lifting most broad market averages into positive territory by the close.

The broad market averages recovered nicely from an ugly morning gap down, avoiding what could have been another nasty distribution day.

Stocks bounced higher on light volume Friday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closing back above the 50-day moving average.

Giving back the previous day's advance and then some, stocks sold off sharply across the board yesterday.

Keeping the bears in check, stocks snapped back from a substantial, three-day losing streak yesterday.

Bearish momentum of last Friday's broad-based stalling action near the highs followed through into Monday's session, causing the main stock market indexes to close substantially lower.

Last Friday's stalling action at the highs in the major averages suggests there could be further weakness this week, or at the very least a few days of chop.

Stocks pushed higher for the third day in a row, with the S&P 500 setting a new high for the year and the Dow Jones adding to its recent breakout as well.

The S&P 500 stalled at the prior swing high and sold off late in the session, closing near the middle of the day's range. The Nasdaq Composite also sold off, closing below the declining 10-day moving average and off the highs of the day.

Stocks rallied higher across the board, led by the S&P 500 closing above 10-day moving average and the two-day high.