The algos were in charge today as headline after headline spooked stocks and sparked buying panics...

China continues to extend post-new year gains...

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European markets dropped today (hurt by US retail sales sentiment)...

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And before we get to US markets, let's just ponder this shitshow...

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And GDP expectations are cratering...

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US Futures show the day's chaos - standard overnight drift higher (positive China trade data which is only good due to new year timing), then a punch in the face by US retail sales, followed by headlines on China trade being "deadlocked", stocks puked into the open only to be rescued by Larry Kudlow proclaiming everything is awesome. Stocks were steady then knee-jerked up on headlines from McConnell that Trump will sign border deal but were unsure as Trump is said to use emergency powers to fund his wall...and then we dumped into the close...

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Small Caps, Trannies, and Nasdaq outperformed...

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Another short-squeeze saves the day...

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The Buyback index is up 30 days this year (only 3 down days)...

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Coke was not "it" today...

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Bezos abandoned NY and the stock surged back to unchanged before fading back...

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But SL Green Realty stumbled...

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Treasury yields tumbled after the retail sales collapse...also perhaps helped by the fact that the IG calendar slowed...

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30Y Yields tumbled back below 3.00% on the retail sales print...

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The dollar swung around like a penny stocks today on the back of weak data and trade headlines...

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Cable drifted lower after several more failed Brexit votes...

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Cryptos flatlined despite headlines about JPMCoin...

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Copper and silver lagged today as oil and gold gained (as the former performed another miracle)...

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Gold pushed up to its strongest relative to silver since late December...

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Finally, we ask "did stocks just ring the bell?"

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BMO's Brad Wishak points out that the largest stock market in the world is suggesting perhaps so, as we again stall out on a test of the 200-day-moving-average (as we did in Nov and Dec as well). The NYSE ($30 trillion market cap) continues to be my most reliable guidepost despite getting little attention from the mainstream overall. DING DING.

"Something Changed" again also... for the 4th day in a row - the last 30 minutes of the day have seen notable selling pressure...

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