The Market On Wednesday

Good morning. Welcome to the Fall Equinox, which according to the US government begins Wednesday September 22, 2010 at 11:09 p.m. EST. Leaves are already falling in my neighborhood. The general lack of rainfall through the Summer is contributing to the early leaf shedding.

At 7:50 a.m. stock futures are modestly down, oil is up, and the dollar is down against the major world currencies.

Yesterday's statement from the Fed is pointed to as the real culprit in today's downturn in futures. There isn't anything outrageously new or surprising here. The recovery is weak, it will be long, and allegedly there will be modest growth.

When stocks don't pop, they drop.

CNN: Stocks set to drop

While the Fed said it expects improvement ahead, the central bank also cautioned that "the pace of economic recovery is likely to be modest in the near-term."


Traders will be closely watching the Fed's securities purchases on Wednesday, he said, for any indication of how yesterday's statement translates into real action.