Tom Schrader Negative Quotations

We have negative news coming out of the home builders this morning, and obviously that's been an area that has led the economy.

Oil is always a negative factor for the markets and that, combined with lack of economic data, is contributing to a lack of interest in the stock markets this morning. On the bright side, the series of company upgrades is certainly welcome.

It seems that GM put a damper on things with some negative comments, and the economic numbers were a little weaker. They are both putting an overhang on the IBM news, which was generally positive. This is one of the biggest earnings days we have -- and people are going to be focusing more on the guidance than they are the actual earnings.

The market has a negative tone to it right now,

The consumer confidence (index) this morning was better than expected, and the lack of negative pre-announcements has given people the impression that first-quarter earnings are going to be good.