Business

For the first time since mid-December, the US oil rig count increased (by 1 to 387) tracking a lagged crude price perfectly. The total rig count dropped to a fresh record low (-4 to 476). The early weakness in WTI Crude is extending on this news...

First rise in 12 weeks...

But the total rig count tumbled to fresh record lows...

The reaction was extnding the losses...

In addition to today's opex witching, at the close of trading today the S&P will conduct its quarterly index rebalance changes. As Credit Suisse notes, there are no constituent changes during this review, only weight adjustments and according to the bank's adjustments, indexers will need to trade approximately $14.5bn to move to new index weights, of which $13.3 billion will take place in the S&P, accounting for 0.7% of the total two-way turnover.

One week ago, despite the ECB's last ditch attempt to reflate the bond market by monetizing corporate bonds in hopes this spills over into stocks (via buybacks) and and broad inflation, Bank of America's Michael Hartnett was adamant: "sell the rally." He wasn't the only one: just a day earlier, after the market's violent kneejerk reaction lower to the ECB's (apparent) unwillingness to push rates even lower, Evercore ISI's chief technician, Rich Ross said "I'm Out. My Bullish tactical call is over."

Oil prices have increased 50 percent since the lows exhibited earlier this year, a rise that is largely linked to the positive market reaction to the OPEC output freeze.

But WTI Crude has given up all its early morning "see oil is fixed" gains in a hurry as once again the algo ramps give way to the realization that, as OilPrice's Leonard Brecken notes, comes even as for all intents and purposes OPEC has nearly reached its production limits and Iran still plans in increasing output.