Monday's mixed market could spill into Tuesday as investors await comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke ahead of the open.
Late day news from Intel could also be a factor Tuesday morning. There is no economic data of note for U.S. markets Tuesday, and traders are already talking about Friday's February jobs report. If it's a bad one, some traders are already speculating the Fed could take swift rate action.
Intel said late Monday its gross margins will be a few points lower than the 56 percent expected in the first quarter but it is sticking with its other forecasts. The technology sector was under pressure during the trading day as some big name tech stocks sold off, including Google, Apple, RIM and Amazon. Intel was slightly higher during the day but fell in after-hours trading after its announcement. Tech investors will also be watching for headlines from Apple's annual meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Banking On It
Bernanke is participating in a session on mortgages and foreclosures at the Independent Community Bankers convention in Orlando. He speaks at 9 a.m. and will take questions from the audience. Remember, Bernanke warned at a Congressional hearing Thursday that some small banks could go under.
Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will hold a hearing with banking regulators on the state of the banking industry, and its role in the subprime crisis and economic downturn.
Market Mayhem
Stocks seesawed Monday and shook off most losses by the end of the day. "At the end, the market rallied beautifully," said Peter Costa, senior managing director at Eckhart and Co. "What I did see is a lot of interest on the sell side cancelled toward the end of the day."
The Nasdaq though still lost 12.88 points or 0.57 percent while the Dow was down just 7.49 points or 0.06 percent. The S&P 500 was in fact higher, gaining 0.71 points, or 0.05 percent. The S&P technology sector lost 0.64 percent, the second worst performer after financials, off 1.23 percent. Materials were the best performer, gaining 1.5 percent.
Red Hot Commodities
Once more, the commodities trade was on with prices of metals and agricultural commodities flying and the dollar wilting. On the road to $1,000, gold rose a full percent to $981.50 per troy ounce.
Technical guru Louise Yamada told "Fast Money" Monday afternoon, that she sees gold going beyond the $1,000 marker. She explained that from 2004 to 2005 there was a 75 percent rise in gold prices, with a very sharp 25 percent decline, a one third retracement. After that, there was an extended reconsolidation, with higher lows.
