Stocks Bounce In Early Trading

Yesterday was a pretty brutal day, wasn't it? My screens were a sea of red, although some of our alternative funds actually fared pretty well.

Asian markets were down across the board overnight, some severly. That made me think that our markets might open under pressure again, but stocks have actually bounced in early trading. I wonder if some of this could be short covering ahead of the weekend. I know that if I had a ton of shorts on, I would be happy to take some profits after yesterday.

The dollar is mixed this morning. I think this morning would have been a perfect moment in time for Treasury to coordinate a currency intervention to support the dollar, but they seem completely uninterested in doing so.

Oil is higher again, now trading above $140. The energy and ag stocks are bouncing as well. I heard on the radio this morning that gas prices have ticked down, but I didn't notice it at the pumps. If it is true, it might be a good sign for oil.

The 10-year yield is lower at 4.00%, reflecting what I think is the bond market thinking that slower economic growth could result from current high commodity prices. But if inflation were the primary concern, I would think that yields would be moving higher.

Personal income came in at +1.9% in May, well above the +0.4% economists predicted. This should bode well for the consumer, who is also still getting stimulus checks in the mail.

Tech stocks remain one of the weak spots so far this morning.