Good morning and Happy Friday. The major US indexes closed higher yesterday though off their best levels. The Russell 2000 outperformed again, as did the S&P equal-weight. The Tech sector, a laggard on the week, saw modest outperformance following Taiwan Semi’s earnings update. Goldman Sachs, Blackrock and Morgan Stanley reversed the early trend of negative post-earnings reactions in the Financial sector. Econ data was generally solid, including the weekly jobs numbers, helping to push yields higher. Moderating Iranian tensions moved crude lower. And of course, John Harbaugh is coming to the Meadowlands. Futures are modestly higher this morning, having traded in relatively tight range overnight.

Earnings after the close yesterday included JB Hunt, State Street, Regions Financial M&T Bank and PNC. All are trading lower in the pre-market except for PNC as the general weakness in financials post-earnings continues. JB Hunt noted the freight market “feels fragile” but it seems there are some puts and takes across segments. Regions Bank commented that “We see improving underlying trends in the nation's economy”.

White House economic advisor and Fed Chair candidate Kevin Hasset downplayed the investigation into the Federal Reserve, saying it was just a request for information and expects “nothing to see” on Fed building cost overruns. Treasury yields are modestly higher again today after backing up yesterday. The Dollar is slightly lower. Brent crude is bouncing a little after sliding yesterday. European nat gas however is adding to its sharp gains this week on low temperatures and storage and export flows. Precious metals are under pressure down 3-5%. Yesterday silver rallied after a sharp drop but today its heading back towards those lows. Bitcoin and Ethereum are around unchanged as markets digest the political environment and the CLARITY act.