Bob is out today. This post is from his producer, Robert Hum, who is helping to cover the markets in Bob's absence.
Despite lower oil and three stronger-than-expected economic reports (Durable Goods, Michigan Consumer Sentiment, & New Home Sales reports), the Dow is only up 50 points this morning.
Financials are off their lows of the morning, but still can’t seem to build much momentum.
Showing a bit of a bounce, however, are the home builders. They were broadly lower at the open, but many of them moved up 8-9 percent from those lows at 10 am ET when the new home sales data were released. That data showed new home sales falling to their lowest level since March, but the results still managed to come in above estimates.
For the second day in a row, energy stocks aren’t following crude oil’s lead. Yesterday, oil was up, but oil stocks were down. Today, despite the nearly $2 decline in oil, both the Amex Oil Index (.XOI) and the Philly Oil Service Index (.OSX) are posting solid gains. In addition to crude oil falling below $124 today, note that the Reuters CRB Index (.CRB), which tracks a basket of commodities, is also down nine of the last ten days – falling over 10 percent during that period.
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