Consumer Sentiment Still Depressed

The Univ of Michigan consumer sentiment survey came in below expectations this morning, and at 59.5 it was the lowest reading since 1980. Are things really that bad? Or are consumers taking their cue from the doom and gloom media who love to prop up the negativity bubble?

The market is trading lower, but a pullback is well overdue given the relentless advance stocks have enjoyed lately.

Oil is the big mover this morning, topping $127 for the first time. This has all the energy stocks trading higher, while the financials and retailers are lower. Tech is mixed.

Asian markets were mostly higher overnight; the dollar is lower vs. the Yen and the Euro, and dollar weakness is helping both oil and gold trade higher; bond yields are lower, with the 10-year yield down to 3.79%.

I think that this week's upside move was also exacerbated a bit by option expiration, which occurs today. If too many traders were leaning short, this can result on upward pressure on stocks to adjust exposure ahead of expiration. It will be interesting to see how the market holds up next week, and if it experiences the options "expiration hangover" that we used to see from time to time.