Reply #23: 10:04 EST numbers and blather [View All]

[UpInArms]

Dow 10,194.58 -47.89 (-0.47%)
Nasdaq 1,940.03 -10.75 (-0.55%)
S&P 500 1,156.99 -5.11 (-0.44%)
10-Yr Bond 42.38 -0.13 (-0.31%)

NYSE Volume 254,878,000
Nasdaq Volume 244,993,000

10:00AM: Equities still on the defensive as the bulk of sector leadership remains negative... Pacing the way lower has been Utility, while Materials, Industrials and Consumer Discretionary have also been under pressure... More influential but posting more modest weakness has been Technology, led lower by a 2.2% sell-off in Hardware... Biotech (+0.4%), however, has been relatively strong following upbeat news on Genentech's (DNA 73.16 +3.73) Herceptin drug, helping Health Care cling to modest gains...

Separately, April consumer confidence has fallen to 97.7 versus an upwardly revised Mar. reading of 103.0 while new home sales jump a better than expected 12.2% to 1.43 mln units, but the market remains relatively unchanged...NYSE Adv/Dec 871/1636, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 796/1564

9:40AM: Stocks open lower, in line with futures indications, ahead of a key read on consumer confidence... The release of April Consumer Confidence (consensus 98.0) at 10:00 ET, which is widely expected to have fallen for a third straight month, has added a sense of nervousness in the early going... Meanwhile, the majority of notable earnings reports have again checked in better than analysts anticipated, but the current trading range mentality continues to leave the market vulnerable to profit taking, especially after yesterday's respectable relief rally...

Also out at the top of the hour will be March New Home Sales (consensus 1190K)...

9:15AM: S&P futures vs fair value: -3.5. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -7.0.