Early Look

The market was finding some footing in early trading until the Consumer Confidence number hit. It came in at 99.6 vs. 105.0 consensus. This took stocks down a bit, although I wouldn't place much longer-term significance on this number. With the recent housing stats and the current negativity bubble, who thought consumer confidence would be high?

Oil is plunging again today, as is natural gas, on continued data on Ernesto, which is now headed for the Florida coast. So the Gulf is breathing a sigh of relief. That has oil breaking below $70, and the energy stocks are lower across the board as well.

Traders will also be eagerly awaiting the FOMC minutes that will be released later today, to see what the Fed's comments are on housing, the economy, etc.

Bond yields are moving higher, with the 10-year at 4.82%, ahead of today's bond auction.

There was also more stock buyback activity announced, with the latest buybacks coming from Boeing (BA) and Amazon (AMZN).

Last, BofA upgraded the chip sector today, saying they believe a bottom is close. Also, there was another brokerage group downgrade this morning, by Punk Zeigel. I think sentiment is too negative on this group, and am still looking to add, but being patient.
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