The seasonality factor continues to play a big part in this market.

The Cisco news isn't that significant, but maybe it's enough to influence people who were looking to get out. The S&P 500 had recently been right near its late December highs, so it's not too surprising to see this consolidation.

I think everyone thought there was going to be an election overhang and as a result of that, a lot of people had money sitting on the sidelines. The fourth quarter is generally pretty strong for stocks, and that proved true this year as well.

I just don't see a whole lot out there that could push us a lot higher. The most positive thing we could see over the next few weeks would be for stocks to trade in a range.

I think there's a sense that with oil prices as high as they are, that's carrying over to the consumer, which you're seeing in the retail sales.

You're seeing a modest extension of the gains of this week, with areas that saw some selling recently, like energy, sort of bouncing back.

The market is at or near the top of its trading range, ... So it would need to be a really strong (payrolls) number to get the market continued on its bullish ways. Right now, I just don't think that pattern is going to happen.

I think the record-high oil prices are still weighing on the market, ... Also, the Merck news is now spilling over to Pfizer, J&J and the blue chips.

The market has had a respectable run-up since its January 24 lows, and today you're seeing some profit taking.