Major indices climbed roughly 2.4% last week, putting several significant technical resistance points in the rear-view mirror in the process.

After struggling with 1,007 on the S&P for several sessions, stocks have been rallying in the face of a shadowy rumbling by bears that the run has to run out of breath sooner or later. September, traditionally the worst month for Wall Street, has not ushered in any cold winds that would hint of a cold season brewing for stocks.

Since bottoming out in mid-March, bulls have had a mostly uninterrupted path to gains. Year-to-date, the tech-heavy NASDAQ is up a gaudy 35%, while the S&P and Dow have risen 18.2% and 11.8%, respectively.  The CBOE Volatility Index, which gives a broad measure of market volatility and is commonly referred to as the VIX, has plunged 40.1% since January 1.

The growth of technical traders has raised the importance of support and resistance markets in determining market direction. When a security or index breaks through a support a resistance level, analysts interpret the event as the beginning of a new trend.

Blue chips rallied to 9,820 on Friday, putting them within shouting distance of the technically important 10,000 mark. In recent days, we’ve seen other asset classes -like Comex gold futures rising above $1,000 per troy oz – break right through perceived resistance as investors buy into securities of all types. Is this the week that the market breaks above 10,000 or will bears finally put their foot down?

Several blue chips received influential upgrades on Friday, helping push the Dow 30 closer back toward 5 digits. Procter & Gamble (PG) scored a “Buy” rating from former Dow component Citigroup and energy giant Chevron (CVX) was upped to “Outperform” by Credit Suisse.

If the market is to get to 10,000 this week, it will have to do so on the back of more housing data (existing and new home sales), the durable goods report, and what is likely to be a little-news event in the latest FOMC meeting.

With all the cash flowing into the market from portfolio and money managers, it seems unlikely at this point that 10,000 will faze Wall Street. After the financial collapse that sent the Dow near 6,000 this past winter, the blue chip index is now roughly halfway back to its December 2007 high above 14,000. The battle for 10,000 will be one to watch.