Market Disappoints Greatest Number of Investors—Again
By: Bob Pisani | CNBC "On-Air Stocks" Editor
The market has disappointed the greatest number of investors, again. Everyone was prepared for Apple to be UP 5 percent or DOWN 5 percent at the open today (Friday) after its earnings report. No one thought it would open FLAT.
(Read more: Is Apple Becoming Like Microsoft? Fears Grow)
Markets open FLAT. Volatility index (VIX) FLAT. Banks under a little pressure. Volume light. S&P drifted a bit lower as October Michigan Sentiment a bit light of expectations but still at the highest level in five years.
But the day is not over: Apple is drifting toward its lows of the day during the lunch hour, down 2.6 percent. (Read more: Stocks Slide, Dragged by Banks; Apple Falls 2%)
What's up with the dollar? Dollar index was down big right after GDP numbers came out at 8:30am ET, gold and silver up. Huh? Some traders think the drop was because much of the gain was government spending (defense), the rest of the economy not so strong, and this increases the chances of QE 3 continuing. (Read more: Gold Turns Positive After US Growth Data)
Others had a more political bent: a better than expected GDP is a small help to President Obama. "Obama = Bernanke = status quo," one trader said to me. "Romney may be [an] improvement but the uncertainty of Ben leaving scares crap out of people," he said.
Indeed, QE, the Fed, and the ECB loom over the stock market and divide opinions as nothing else. On one side: players chasing yields and returns as long as the spigot remains open, hoping there will be a mild juice to the economy even as they recognize that QE is distorting the stock market. On the other side is the belief, held by Einhorn and others, that QE will ultimately hurt growth and earnings.
Finally: who sold Amazon at $206 last night? Why trade a volatile stock in the after-hours? Amazon traded as low as $206 last night after the close, now at $230. Why anyone would trade right after earnings in the after-hours is beyond me.
—By CNBC's Bob Pisani
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