Big Market Players Wait On Fed Reassurance

The market is mostly marking time, but an upward bias keeps the major indices buoyant. Meanwhile, all the action is away from the major indices, as software names rock on a mix of news, acquisitions, and a bunch of Wall Street upgrades.

We find ourselves waiting for Jay Powell, again, less than a week after his FOMC question and answer period that was usurped by James Bullard on Friday.  Powell has to find a way to let the street know Bullard is an outlier or we could see late market pressure. 

The big loser today is the Utilities sector, suggesting more confidence, as investors shift money around.  But the big moves won't happen until we get clean breakouts, and that won’t happen until there is confidence the Fed won't derail the party.  

Meanwhile, Consumer Discretionary is the best performing sector, as consumers’ accept, they will be paying higher prices.