"Probably nothing..."
Small-cap stocks briefly erased gains, with the Russell 2000 plunging 0.4 percent in less than a minute as volume exploded...
As Bloomberg notes, about 3.84 million shares traded in the benchmark index at 11:51 a.m., more than 10 times the volume in the previous minute.
Trading also surged in futures, with more than 10,000 contracts changing hands between 11:50 and 11:53, 58 times the volume in the previous three minutes.
S&P futures rose alongside European stocks as Asian shares posted modest declines. The euro set a new six-month high and European bourses rose as PMI data from Germany and France signaled that the ECB will have to tighten soon as Europe's recovery remains on track, with the German Ifo business confidence printing at the highest level on record, and hinting at a GDP print in the 5% range. Oil declined after the Trump budget proposal suggested selling half the crude held in the US strategic petroleum reserve.
European and Asian stocks slumped on Thursday following the worst one-day drop in US stocks in 8 months, while S&P futures tumbled to session lows, down 0.3% to 2,350 after initially posting a modest rebound, following a new Reuters report alleging that Trump campaign members communication with Russians on at least 18 occasions, and which prompted today's risk off mood sending the USDJPY crashing by 100 pips from overnight highs of 111.40.
From Nick Colas of Convergex
Loose Lips Sink, Well Everything
Via Francesco Filia of Fasanara Capital
“Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.” – Leonardo da Vinci
Hard data ceased to be a driver for markets, valuation metrics for bonds and equities which held valid for over a century are now deemed secondary. Narratives and money flows trump hard data, overwhelmingly.