(As of 7:30 am pacific)
Alcoa kicked off earnings season last night with a whimper. In a report convoluted with one time charges, the bottom line on profit beat expectations, but projections, especially due to China growth worries, was anemic and set the stage for a weak opening of markets this morning. Commodities were mixed with gold and oil trading close to unchanged and the dollar index up slightly. Mortgage interest rates ticked up a small amount. It is a quiet morning, with the beige book report likely to provide direction for the markets. Momentum is negative as pessimism persists in the wake of a flood of earnings reports.
