Well too bad because they came to the rescue, at least for one day. Great rally in the global financial markets yesterday, however I made sure I cashed out my gains as I am pessimistic on the outlook of today’s economic news. Never the less, a pullback may present a great value trade opportunity like we saw yesterday.

Crude continues its decline; now watch OPEC cut production later today ha! Actually all indications seem to point that production will remain at current levels. Don’t look for much pre market action until same store sales data is released at 7:45. In the meantime futures were somewhat to the positive side. I am sure investors are looking for any reason to take yesterday’s profits, so if you are currently long lets whip those pom poms back out for some date signaling some sort of life in the economy!

Economic Calendar
Same store sales and pending home sales lead the way in today’s news. Investors will be looking for respectable numbers as a sign of stability in the housing markets, and hope that the good ol’ American consumer can continue to shell out money like candy.

7:45 am
ICSC-UBS Store Sales: This weekly measure of comparable store sales at major retail chains, published by the International Council of Shopping Centers, is related to the general merchandise portion of retail sales. It accounts for roughly 10 percent of total retail sales. We should get a really good indication if yesterday’s rally will hold if the pre market report is respectable, but as we get further away from the stimulus checks, I wouldn’t bet on it….

10:00 am
Pending Home Sales Index: A leading indicator of existing home sales for the month of July developed by The National Association of Realtors. This provides a gauge of not only the demand for housing, but general sentiment on the consumer front. People have to be feeling pretty comfortable and confident in their own financial position to buy a house and the ripple effect a housing purchase has throughout the economy.

Wholesale Trade: Measures the value, in dollars of sales made and inventories held by merchant wholesalers. It is a component of business sales and inventories. A drop in inventory creates a need for manufacturing and production, alongside a sign of consumer demand. A very worthwhile forward looking indicator.