Is Anyone Left On The Trading Desks?

Yesterday's volume was the lowest on the NYSE for this whole year. It seems that like most years, traders wait until the last week of August to all take vacation at the same time. I can't blame them. I am heading out tomorrow to go visit my parents in Cleveland (Go Browns!).

With volume running so low, its hard to make any decisions about the future direction of the market. I still expect trading to be choppy, especially ahead of the election, as the market dislikes uncertainty.

A lot still depends on oil, which is higher today on hurricane-related fears. Oil hit $117 earlier, but is fading. Natural gas is up even more today, as much as +6% higher earlier. This is helping the energy complex bounce, although the rally feels tepid.

Consumer confidence bounced sharply last month, up +9.6% to 56.9, according to the Conference Board. Separately, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index showed a -15.9% yr/yr drop in home prices in June. With still falling home prices, high oil prices, shaky financials, and weak stocks, I'm not sure what caused the jump in confidence. Maybe falling gas prices!

The dollar is higher today, pushing the Euro to multi-month lows. The 10-year yield is up to 3.80%. And the VIX is down a touch to 20.61, after a 10%+ spike yesterday.