Stocks closed higher on Friday and for the week. It was the second up week out of three for all of the major indexes.

And it takes them all further off their correction lows from three weeks ago. The Dow is up 9.56% from their lows; the S&P is up 14.3%; the Nasdaq is up 17.6%; the small-cap Russell 2000 is up 13.0%; and the mid-cap S&P 400 is up 12.8%.

For the month of April, so far, the S&P 500 is only down -1.54%.

At its worst, it was down as much as -13.8% for the month.

This is noteworthy for the following: let me first start with March's S&P decline of -5.75%. Since 1945, in every instance when the S&P was down by -3% or more in March, it was then higher in April. That happened 7 times. And each and every time it was higher in April. The average gain in April was 5.92%. That would be a heck of a move given where we were at its worst. In fact, being down only -1.5% is a heck of a move in and of itself. If the market can keep its upside momentum going, it's looking like that statistic will keep its 100% success rate intact.

Who would have thought in mid-April, when the markets were hitting their lows, we'd soon be flirting with being positive for the month by month's end? (Actually, plenty. Including myself.) We'll see how the month turns out. But it underscores the importance of paying attention to historical trends and statistical events.

Either way, what a difference a few weeks can make.

In other news, Friday's Consumer Sentiment report showed the index rise to 52.2 vs. last month's 50.8 and views for 50.5. The year-ahead inflation expectations (which is part of that report), decreased to 6.5% vs. last month's 6.7% and estimates for the same.

Earnings season continues. After the close last Thursday, Alphabet posted a positive EPS surprise of 39.1%, and a positive sales surprise of 1.27%. That translated to a quarterly EPS growth rate of 48.7% vs. this time last year, and a sales growth of 13.2%. They were up 1.68% in regular trading on Friday.

Then on Friday before the open, we heard from AbbVie, which posted a positive EPS surprise of 2.93%, and a positive sales surprise of 3.39%. That equated to a quarterly EPS growth rate of 6.49% vs. this time last year, and a sales growth of 8.37%. They were up 3.15% in Friday's session.

We'll get another 1,032 companies on deck to report this week, including NXP Semiconductors today; Visa on Tuesday; Microsoft, Meta and Qualcomm on Wednesday; Apple, Amazon and McDonald's on Thursday; and Berkshire Hathaway and Exxon Mobile on Friday.

We'll also get the usual slate of economic reports. But the main event for those will be Friday's always important Employment Situation report.

Should be a busy week. And if all goes well, April will end the month in the plus column, and extend the market's weekly winning streak to 2 weeks in a row.

See you tomorrow,