Market No So Pleased With Obama Proposals

The market is trading lower again this morning, after Obama made some remarks that were again not too business friendly for American multinational corporations. Specifically, he proposed a tax on large businesses in America that do big business overseas. Unfortunately, all this would do is make our businesses less competitive in the global landscape.

The other proximate cause of this decline are rumors that are swirling of an imminent rescue package for Greece, which is struggling. Investors don't like these rescue packages, and if Greece is lining up for one, who is next? Spain? Portugal? Ireland? Ugh.

This morning's economic reports didn't help any, as initial jobless claims were slightly higher than expected, and durable goods orders were a bit weaker than consensus.

The dollar up a bit today, which is weighing on the commodity complex. Oil and gold are down only slightly, to $73.50 and $1083, respectively.

Among the sector ETFs, tech is faring the worst (-3.2%), after weak QCOM earnings, while consumer staples are holding up the best (-0.1%) after solid earnings from CL and PG.

Asian markets were higher overnight; the 10-year yield is higher at 3.66%; and the VIX is spiking higher again today, up +7.5% to 24.87.

Trading comment: The S&P 500 is pulling back again, and testing this 1080-1085 level. These are important support levels, since this was the area where the market found support in both the November and December pullbacks.

The market hasn't been able to bounce much from these oversold levels, which is not a great sign. And more stocks continue to selloff after reporting earnings (see MMM). So while some things look attractive for a trade, I would not be stepping up to make any big bets until I see more signs of support for the market, leading stocks starting to consolidate and form bases, and bearish sentiment to climb further (its already starting).