Down Day For Markets

It's a Yogi day heading into the close. Déjà vu all over again, even. Weak financials and strong energy seem to be dominating the action. Sure, stocks are a discounting mechanism, but the simple fact is that the turn in fundamentals in the financial sector is just too far off for the banks and brokers to make a sustainable move higher. Will it happen? Of course it will, but for now the timing is nothing more than a guess.

Despite the negative tone in trading, there are many stocks -- especially those with a global slant -- having a great day. Foster Wheeler (FWLT) is trading near all time highs, and if you must own a financial how about Credicorp (BAP) out of Peru? How many banks can say they're going to see a 30% bump in bottom line?

Waiting for the so-called energy bubble pot to boil over hasn't been too profitable and, according to Todd, may not even have the desired results.

Today breaks a four-month streak of positive first-trading-day-of-the-month moves for the S&P. The perception has been a positive bias at the start of the trading month with fund managers putting new capital to work. But unless we catch Osama bin Laden sometime between now and 4:00 p.m. that streak will be a memory.
 

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