Option Millionaires

[uranium-pinto-beans]

All 11 S&P 500 sectors trade down with losses ranging from 0.1% (utilities) to 2.2% (energy). The latter is pressured by declining oil prices. WTI crude oil futures are down 3.6% to $74.16/bbl, reflecting the market's angst about the potential for waning demand in a slower growth environment/recession.


Today's economic data was limited to the October Trade Balance, which showed that the deficit widened in October to $78.2 billion (Briefing.com consensus -$77.2 billion) from a downwardly revised $74.1 billion (from -$73.3 billion) in September. That was the result of exports being $1.9 billion less than September exports and imports being $2.2 billion more than September imports.

The key takeaway from the report is that the pickup in imports speaks to a relatively strong U.S. economy in October versus other economies.