Stocks ended their first positive week in four with a down day on Friday as investors were reluctant to buy going into a long weekend, with uncertainty still swirling around Europe.

An S&P index of industrial shares .GSPI ranked among the session's biggest losers while weakness in large-cap tech stocks like Google Inc  kept the Nasdaq in negative territory.

Warnings about Greece kept investors cautious, as did Spain after Standard & Poor's downgraded five banks and a source told Reuters that Bankia asked for $24 billion in state aid. However, a bullish read on U.S. consumer sentiment kept pessimism in check.

For the week, the S&P 500 rose 1.7 percent. That advance broke the benchmark index's a three-week string of losses with its best weekly performance since mid-March. The Dow added 0.7 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq climbed 2.1 percent. Trading was choppy all week, with volatility often spiking around the close. (commentary & photo courtesy of Reuters)

The market outlook continues to look negative as the vast majority of long ETFs are in significant downtrends. The major exception are the bond ETFs which continue to be in good uptrends. Two bond funds that look attractive are LQD and TIP that pay 4.86% and 3.92% interest. This picture adds up to the often cited flight to safety. The question is are we in a normal correction or is this the start of another bear market? We will know in the fullness of time.

I hope you are having a good weekend.