The Market On Thursday

Good morning. It is sunny and 26 degrees here in Upstate NY. We had a light snow before sunrise. The patina of white is lingering but it will soon disappear. The sun is a little too hot. Lots of joggers out running this morning and I had the pleasure of bumping into my good friend the golden retriever that lives two blocks over. Nice dog, at a relatively young age the dog is becoming well behaved. The trick with a dog is you have to walk them a lot, otherwise the pent up energy makes them neurotic.

At 8:25 a.m. futures are moderately up, the dollar is mixed, and oil is up. Right now the market is set to open higher.

Investors appear to have factored in Japan's ongoing catastrophes, Libya's ongoing civil war, Spain and Portugal's insolvency, and is there anything else. Just wait a minute, something else will arise.

I would say that right now it is America's recovery and the top few countries', (Germany and China) economic recovery that is driving the market.

First time unemployment claims are due out any second.

CNN: Stocks set to continue advance

Meanwhile, ratings agency Moody's downgraded its debt ratings of 30 Spanish banks.


Oil for May delivery gained 74 cents, or 0.7%, to $106.49 a barrel.