Corporate Earnings Come Through In Shining Fashion

The market is getting a huge boost this morning on the heels of several stronger than expected earnings reports, and a lack of any economic data to worry about.

Asia was nicely higher overnight, and Europe was also higher this morning. The Yen is lower vs. the dollar, and the 10-year yield is stable at 4.67%.

But it was strong earnings reports from Google (GOOG), which crushed estimates, Catepillar (CAT), Honeywell (HON), Pfizer (PFE), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), and American Express (AXP) that really got things going. Check out their charts to see how strong the reactions were. With so many pundits nervous about this upcoming earnings season, this is a welcome development.

So far, earnings growth this quarter is shaping up to be better than expected. All of the major indices are making new highs. And although I think the market is overbought short-term, this bodes well for continued gains later on.

Oil is slightly higher this morning, which is causing the energy sector to outperform so far. But it does not seem to be coming at the expense of the rest of the market. I am still skeptical of strong opens, so lets hope that this whole rally doesn't fade into a Friday close. Today is also options expiration day, which could be skewing the open.