The Market On Thursday

Good morning. It is 33 degrees and sunny here in Upstate NY. It is allegedly going up into the 70s today and that will be just lovely. Yours truly will be making another visit to the chiropractor so I am mentally preparing myself for the cracking of bones. It is helpful both the preparation and the cracking.

At 8:00 a.m. futures are ever so slightly higher, the dollar is mostly down against major world currencies, and the price of oil is up. The market is poised to open higher but...

Initial weekly layoff claims will come through at around 8:30 a.m. and a poor showing could tilt the market.

Otherwise, investors were pleased with another wave of bond sales in Spain, so for the day the Eurozone crisis is in check. Investors will also be parsing through more first quarter reports along with data on the housing market. It could be a bumpy day indeed with lots of metrics in the pipeline.

CNN: Stocks point higher following Spanish auction

An auction of Spanish 10-year bonds drew strong demand on Thursday, providing some relief for investors...


...another wave of corporate earnings from some of the country's largest firms, including Bank of America and Verizon....


The National Association of Realtors will release its March existing home sales data after the opening bell.