The Stock Market Is On An Awesome Tear, But It's Still Not As Hot As 2012 [CHART]

Some perspective on this blazing hot, can't-stop market from Dan Greenhaus at BTIG:

While everyone is focused on Cyprus and what they have to look forward to, it’s important to remind people that it will not be the last, tiny, seemingly meaningless country you’ll hear about. Slovenia, which as of January had no need “whatsoever” for a bailout, is starting to see its borrowing costs rise and increasingly being mentioned in press reports but our conversations with clients suggests zero tolerance for hearing anything about this. That might suggest to some complacency or a disregard of risks; maybe so. But as the first chart below illustrates, the S&P 500’s 2013 gain still trails its 2012 gain over a similar time frame (+12.6% then v. 9.7% now), suggesting that maybe investors are accounting for risks in 2013 whereas they were not in 2012.

BTIG