The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. It is 68 degrees and rainy but presently not raining here in the Upper Hudson Valley. There is a 90% chance of rain today according to the basic report. I see where the Knicks, my favorite sports team, traded away Chandler and Felton. I'm not sorry to see Felton go but I am sorry to see Chandler go. All in all it's a good move for the Knicks as Phil Jackson goes about the business of putting his stamp on the team and I do like Calderon. It will be interesting to see what happens by October when the season resumes.

  At 8:20 a.m. ET futures are slightly lower and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open lower.

  In attempting to look at the big picture, we have the DOW perched on the brink of its all time record high and we have June winding down. The end of June represents the end of the second quarter and then we have the onslaught of second quarter corporate reports. I suspect the DOW stays within its present range until those reports indicate the condition of the corporate world. At that point the DOW crosses the 17K finish line or we go in reverse. This is simply my opinion.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open

The U.S. government will post weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET. At the same time, it will also issue data on personal spending and income.

...Asian markets mostly ended with gains. (on Thursday)