Yesterday the S&P 500 fell 0.5% but a broader view of the market was more picturesque. The equal-weight and the Russell 2000 finished in the green, outperforming by ~1%. We assume the strength of the market overall was driven by optimism of the NY Giants closing in on hiring John Harbaugh as the next Head Coach. The early trend this year of outperformance from sectors unloved last year, and other indexes against the S&P 500 continued. Today the S&P 500 is looking better after reports said Harbaugh’s deal is all but signed. Apparently the market cap-weighted index was waiting for more confirmation. Earlier in the morning futures were already trading up before economic data sent them even higher. The S&P's gains are not coming at the expense of smaller caps names as they continue to outperform.

Tech is back in a familiar leadership position today, with the semis leading the way after Taiwan Semi’s strong earnings overnight. The trend of post-earnings weakness in Financials is also reversing today as Blackrock, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs trade higher and well above initial levels. Healthcare is the only sector materially lower.

Treasury yields spiked several basis points following the low jobless/continuing claims print this morning. That took yields from around flat to up a couple of basis points across the curve. Fed governor Barr came out swinging in his interview with Yahoo Finance, saying the administration’s ongoing inquires amount to “an assault on the independence of the Fed."

Brent crude is pulling back as Iranian tensions come off the boil, at least for now. Precious metals are also lower but off their worst levels. Bitcoin and Ethereum are tying to stay flat. The Senate cancelled a vote on the CLARITY Act and Coinbase pulled its support for the bill, with the issue of paying interest on payment stablecoins the major hurdle.