Bears cannot force a market down, it is the buyers that are keeping it up but they can't get through the gap.
IMO it's not the buyers that are keeping it up (buying pressure is anemic per the chart below), it's a combination of 1) lack of selling (also anemic in the chart below) 2) plenty of hedgers (why sell when one can hedge) per the large increase in short selling along with heavy volume on the major index ETFs and high p/c ratios and 3) possibly the most important that we're all still adapting to....the proliferation of electronically-based exchange trading and market making activites (easier to "paint and control" the tape via computer algorithms) along with program trading/easy helicopter Ben credit....it takes mere nanoseconds for da Paulson-sponsored boyz and their buy programs to pump it up.
Right now, it doesn't appear the programs are too eager to pump it up further, but possibly attempting to set the stage now for a nanosecond squeeze later by generating apparent resistance and attracting additional short selling / hedging that'll provide add'l fuel in the absense of material buying pressure. Of course I could be wrong about this hypothesis
