September Stock Index futures are trading higher at the midsession seemingly unfazed by last night’s bad earnings reports from Microsoft, Amazon and American Express. This morning’s trade has been two-sided. The indices opened lower but quickly rallied only to break again on less than friendly Michigan Sentiment news. Currently these indices are stuck at the mid-point of the range between yesterday’s high and today’s low. Look for volatility to pick-up near the close with today’s opening acting as an important pivot price.
September Treasury Bonds and Treasury Notes are trading higher this morning. The weaker equity markets could be encouraging investors to take a little money out of stocks and redeploy it into fixed income instruments. A late stock market rally could put pressure on the Treasuries.
August Gold is trading flat at the mid-session. This market has had a strong week despite higher equities and comments from Fed Chairman Bernanke regarding the Fed’s control over inflation. Traders may be betting on a weaker Dollar over the near-term.
The firming stock market is helping to boost speculation in September Crude Oil. Technically this market has reached a key retracement level but there has not been enough selling pressure to break it from current levels. Production cuts at the refineries have been supportive this week.
November Soybeans and December Corn are trading sharply lower today. The fundamentals just don’t support a rally at this time. Ideal weather conditions are helping to increase the crop. Talk of new regulations to curtail excessive speculation may be triggering liquidation. Earlier in the week China sold soybeans on the domestic market. This may lead to less demand for U.S. crops later in the year.
