Bullish traders had a grand day in Tuesday’s trading session as fears stepped aside as favorable market and economic conditions returned.

The S&P 500 broke the key 1281 level of resistance and rocketed upward to close 1292, up 11 points. The next stop for technical traders? 1300. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 62 points to close at 12,462.

Wednesday remained dull for traders as all the major indices closed flat or slightly up. the S&P 500 failed to get above 1292 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged slightly lower. International stocks in Mexico and Brazil got a slight boost thanks to positive economic news coming from the Federal Reserve Beige Book.

Currency trading remained soft but commodities soared upward due to a decline in the dollar. Crude oil reached $102 a barrel and gold hit a three-week high of $1632 an ounce, up $24. Silver almost closed at $30 an ounce but eased off to $29.90 by the end of trading.

In fixed-income, bond sales and trading were strong. The 10-Year note shot higher whilst the 30-year bond dropped slightly. Bond trading remains upbeat for the first weeks of 2012 thus far.