The Market On Wednesday

  Good morning. It is a cool 44 degrees and cloudy expecting rain here in Upstate NY. All in all this area got off with barely a wrist slap from Sandy. Everyone in this area was very scared because last year's Irene really shook the place up. The damage especially in Western Vermont and the Catskill towns in NY was very high. So we are all breathing a sigh of relief. The best part of this experience was the dropping of the intensity of our preoccupation with the election. I can't wait for this thing to get over.

  At 8:00 a.m. futures are modestly higher, the dollar is up against major world currencies, and the price of oil is up per barrel. The market is poised to open higher.

  Investors will be parsing a boat load of data with the NYSE closed the last two days with Sandy. I heard the NYSE was under 3 feet of water.

  There is a long story here but the telling numbers, the meat of the story, will come on Friday when the government releases its data on job creation in October. The number will be meaningful on many levels, perhaps it can affect the outcome of the election, perhaps not. Either way the number will be exploited by the candidates as proof of their electability.

CNN: Stock markets prepare for post-Sandy open

Volume is expected to be very high as the NYSE, Nasdaq and other markets execute their first trades after two unscheduled days in the dark.

Fresh data on manufacturing and employment costs will be released Wednesday.