Alcoa beat the number as aluminum prices popped 20% in the third quarter, although still down 40% year over year. Cost cutting helped, but the company does get some kudos because the weak greenback ( a real positive for most material companies), didn’t help.
S&P futures are up about ten handles and it really does look like it wants to make a run at the 1075-1080 level soon. The bulls hope the the euphoria won’t be interrupted by the weekly jobless claims at 8:30 and September retail sales are on deck. Analysts are looking for a beat on that front.
The Dollar Index (DXY) is trading at 76.05 and continues the meltdown. Will the market ever go up without a plummeting dollar? So far the answer is no, just overlay a chart of the dollar and the S&P and you will see what I mean.
The materials (XME/UYM) will continue to play well in here, the financials are climbing the wall of worry and are attempting to take out the late September high at $15.44. The banks start reporting next week and it will be interesting to see if some chips come off the table in front of those reports. Goldman continues to quietly make near term highs and easily shrugged off a rumor on Tuesday that they had a $1 billion derivatives loss. Nice try shorties.
Around the Horn:
– Risk appetite on the rise following Alcoa earnings and Australia’s unemployment reports
– Gold continues to shine at the expense of the dollar
– Key European central bank meetings later this morning with BOE and ECB expected to hold the line. Question if the currency topic would be raised at the press conference
– Widely followed think tank: European policymakers are losing trust in the Obama administration’s commitment to a “strong dollar” policy and are considering policy responses
– Chinese equity markets to re-open on Friday following its weeklong holiday
Have a great day, see you on StocktwitsTV at noon.