Art Hogan Report Quotations

I think the market will continue to drift without any real direction until we get Friday's employment report and investors get a sense of the current economic outlook.

We have just digested so much news in the last week or so, ... Fourth-quarter earnings have been much better than expected, but you have people reluctant to make big bets ahead of things like the payroll report Friday, or the G7 meeting, which will be important for the dollar.

A lot of that rally had to do with the ISM (Institute for Supply Management) number, particularly the employment component, with people hoping that in turn, Friday's monthly report will show a higher number of payrolls than what people are expecting.

This may be a very volatile trading session. The market wants good numbers, but an exceedingly good report may lead to further rates increases, and that's not good for stocks. On the other hand, a bad report on top of disappointing earnings, could spark another sell-off.

The markets are hanging on nicely, considering the massive gains yesterday, ... Clearly, if the market can hold onto its gains from yesterday, and through the weak durable goods report today, the path of least resistance is upside.