No Market Volume, No Telling What Is Going To Happen Next

Good morning. The markets opened flat with a positive bias with the DOW at 13197 closing yesterday at 13197, the 500 at 1412 closing at 1412, $RUT at 841.30 closing at 839.98, SSO at 58.65 and SPY at 141.09. Gold is at 1675, SLV is at 31.51, GLD is at 162.76, WTI oil is at 105 and Brent is at 123.  First 10 minute market volume is green but VERY low and not very convincing as to direction.

Yesterday’s close had a sell off of moderate proportions that would have normally signaled a continuation the next morning, but not in this “New Normal” market where anything can happen and will. Unbelievably the futures start out higher and then end up at yesterday’s close – in years past this is NOT the way it would have happened. Go figure.

The low volume syndrome that we have been witnessing for the last 3 months will continue to be a market under the control of the HFT and DaBoyz. Trying to out guess what these ‘Five-Fingered-Financiers’ who work the night shift will do next is impossible as they run the market up and down at will. I am hoping a 5% correction at this juncture will allow an opening for a trade, but watch the volume. No market volume, no telling what is going to happen next.

I like to point out occasionally with an old West Virginia Hillbilly saying: “You cannot get the water to clear up, until you get the pigs out of the creek.”

Earlier this morning the SP500 futures started out moderately higher and then dropped like a rock from 1412 to 1407 by 8:30 when the financial reports came in. Paused while digesting the durable goods report and continued falling but at a slower pace. Likewise the USD started out at 79.02 and rose to 79.29.

@dailyfx: $USD: U.S. Cap goods ship nondef (Feb) rises 1.4% after contracting 3.0% in January (revised from 3.1% contraction). Forecast was 0.9%.

$USD: U.S. Cap goods order nondef (Feb) rises 1.2% after contracting 3.7% in January (revised from 4.5% contraction). Forecast was 1.5%.

$USD: U.S. Durables ex transportation (Feb) rises 1.6% after contracting 3.0% in January (revised from 3.2% contraction). Forecast was 1.7%.

Fx – muted reaction on durable goods orders report so far – core was slightly better than expected and yet head line was weaker.

$USD: U.S. Durable goods orders (Feb) rises 2.2% after contracting 3.6% in January (revised from -4.0% contraction). Forecast was 3.0%.

@7 am US MBA Mortgage applications [mar 23] came in at -2.7% versus -7.4% previous.

Other news this morning.

@telegraph: “The heat is likely to remain on Spain for the coming days, as the “troubled eurozone economy” du jour.

The country is set to announce some of its deepest-ever budget cuts on Friday, as it tries to stick to the new (looser) goal of cutting its budget deficit to 5.3pc of GDP this year.

However, with the economy back in recession, Spain is unlikely to able to meet its targets even with these cuts, economists say. “

@zerohedge: Durable Goods Miss, Inventory Stockpiles Soar To New All Time High

Written by Gary