Markets Roar, Then Meow

U.S. stocks advanced on Thursday, cutting weekly losses, but euphoria over increased retail sales in November faded as oil fell to another five-year low and renewed worries of a government shutdown.  The way the market gave up its gains throughout the day, concerns me over the market's near term direction.
After spiking more than 50 percent during the last three sessions, the CBOE Volatility Index on Thursday fell 1.4 percent to 18.27.
After a 225-point jump, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lately up 131.71 points, or 0.7 percent, at 17,664.86, with Walt Disney leading blue-chip gains that included 28 of its 30 components.
The S&P 500 added 16.24 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,042.38, with utilities and consumer discretionary the best performing of its 10 major industry groups, all of which advanced.
The Nasdaq gained 37.01 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,721.04.
For every four shares falling, roughly five rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where 579 million shares traded as of 3:45 p.m. Eastern. Composite volume neared 3.3 billion.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil futures for January delivery fell 99 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $59.95 a barrel, its lowest since July 2009.  Gold futures for February delivery dropped $3.80, or 0.3 percent, to $1,225.60 an ounce.
The U.S. dollar  gained against other global currencies and the yield on the 10 year Treasury note added 2 basis points to 2.1850 percent.