Bracing For Really Bad News

Good morning. Investors are bracing for some really bad news about the economy today after a series of negative headlines. Reduced forecasts from Target (TGT), Lowe's (LOW), and Lennar (LEN) have increased concern that the economy is slowing down more than expected. Reports on September consumer confidence and August existing home sales are both due out at 10:AM and will set the tone for the rest of the day.

Premarket gainers: SCON, KRSL, FMCN, JRJC, AKNS, EXPE, PLCM, TSO, ICE, LONG, BSMD, VCLK, CROX, ARNA, SNDA, ARTG, IACI, DISH, IMCL, CHU, MPEL, and SNCR.

Premarket losers: FFHL, MXIM, ARRS, HOV, LEN, AAUK, GOLD, ETFC, ASTI, CEA, NSANY, NDAQ, CPSL, CCOI, COST, JOYG, LOW, QGEN, FFIV, QMAR, SHLD, TGT, AKAM, BKR, CNQR, WYNN, and RVBD.

Collectively, this morning's headlines provide a decent test to bulls' confidence and how the market reacts to the 10:AM reports will offer a small clue to how aggressive investors want to be in the short-term. At this point, I still would prefer to see more consolidation so that we could close the quarter on firm ground. We'll see if the market cooperates with that plan. Have a great day!