Expecting A Choppy Friday

Good morning. The possibility of new subprime troubles following hedge fund losses at Bear Stearns have investors in a defensive mood. Rising bond yields and weakness in overseas markets with no economic data scheduled for today has also contributed to the negative disposition. As you probably already know, the market is also awaiting the IPO of Blackstone (BX) later today.

The bulls certainly have put together an impressive stetch of can't lose Fridays and quite a few traders are probably counting on (or hoping for) the same for today. Based on what I'm seeing so far, I think we'll likely see a similar day as yesterday (i.e. very choppy). Have a great Friday!