Here's A 5-Second Guide To What Traders Are Talking About Today

Dave Lutz of Stifel, Nicolaus has the top topics about which traders are talking today:

Good Morning! The SPX is on a 5day winning streak, longest since October - right now US Futures are higher, led by a 20bp pop in Nasdaq stocks - Tuesday's have been a bulls friend - of the 15 Tuesdays so far this year, the S&P 500 has only been down twice - If you had invested in the S&P 500 only on Tuesdays so far this year, you would be up 8.7% YTD!. Markets are upbeat over in Europe, as the market seems to digest the occasional "firefight" in the Ukraine - but we keep an eye on Russia's Market, the Micex is off 60bp right now. It's Early, but $75B worth of Healthcare deals overnight has the IBB marked up almost 1%. The FTSE HC/Biotech Index is up 6% right now (Was closed Fri/Mon) - In Asia, the Shanghai gained 30bp, but concerns remain about the slew of IPOs announced - The Nikkei lost about 1% despite headlines from Nippon Life and the GPIF reshuffle - Aussie gained 40bp, but the Miners all closed solidly in the red as Metal prices deteriorate. Earnings remains a focus, with 50% of the ITB and IBB reporting this week - Overnight focus was on NFLX leaping almost 10% - today we have BK, CMCSA, CP, ITW, JNS, LMT, MCD, RF, SPG, TRV, and XRX are all pre-open while AMGN, DFS, GILD, ILMN, ISRG, JNPR, T, and YUM all report post-close

Yesterday, The US index of leading indicators hit its highest since November - a sign the worst of the winter weather impact on the economy is over - The 10YY is off small ahead of a 2Y auction expected to post the highest auction yield in 2years later today. We have a bid in both € and Yen, pressing the Dollar lower, causing a tailwind for commodities - Platinum continues to bounce on Russia Sanction angst - while Silver and Gold are bouncing from multi-week/month lows. The Crude complex is in the red - WTI coming off a 7week high into API Inventories tonight. Your best performing commodity YTD is Coffee, and it is up 3% this AM on weather concerns (El Nino headlines everywhere), adding to the 75% 2014 gain. Scheduled Catalysts today include FHFA House Price Index for Feb at 9, Existing Home Sales for March, Richmond Fed, and Euro-Zone Consumer Confidence at 10, a very small POMO at 11, Former Fed Chairman Bernanke Speaks at the Economic Club at 11:45, and 1pm brings the Auction of $32 Bln 2-Year Notes.