It keeps coming down to the last thirty minutes of trading where something keeps going horribly wrong. Once again, the narrative this has anything to do with individual investors is folly. Sure, many are getting caught as collateral damage, but so few are in the market and account for a tiny amount of trade activity.

Take a look at buyers since dawn of the great recession (courtesy of Merrill via zero hedge):

But soon many individuals might be placed in position to bail as unanswered questions persist.

China causing all of this...really?

Margin calls sparked selling yesterday even after Dow up 350 points...really?

Don't get me wrong there is a lot of margin debt, but not sure how it jibes with massive outflows of individual investors in funds and ETFs.

My parameters were tested yesterday on the up and down sides, which is remarkable. The reversal was one for the record books.

Once again, I look at the machines triggered by anxious fund managers and market manipulators, most already on the wrong side of the market with abysmal track records. Lots of them catching up big time crushing the average investor. If you can't beat them on long side...

The economic backdrop hasn't changed. It's not great, but it’s plodding along, waiting for the next administration at home and any semblance of capitalism elsewhere. Yes, headlines will talk about China coming to the rescue. After years of disparaging remarks, it appears we love those phony data releases after all.

More ghost cities, please.

Yes, I think the market is oversold but that means nothing near term.

Longer term, it means a lot for those that can keep their wits while algorithmic robots do battle on the field of the stock exchange.

Oversold

US futures are up despite China dragging Europe lower and persistent unanswered questions and angst.

A huge deal in the oil patch underscores how oversold most stocks have become. Schlumberger (SLB) acquires Cameron International (CAM) in a $14.8 billion deal for a 56% premium from yesterday, but only 36% last 20 days. We are using same parameters as yesterday morning.

The market is oversold (even bears would acknowledge as much on a short term basis), but that's not enough for more than a near term bounce. There was strong economic data overlooked yesterday, but those are the reports that build the case for a sustained bounce.

Today’s Session

Once again, the major equity indices are indicating higher. Crude oil is also up, edging closer to $39.50 per barrel. However, multiple oil companies announced that they are slashing or getting rid of their dividends all together; the latest casualty is Transocean Ltd. which will be hosting shareholder meetings in October to approve the cancellation. This may result in more pressure on oil and gas stocks as investors rearrange their portfolios to ensure that they are receiving worthwhile dividend payments.

We had a few domestic economic releases this morning. The Census Bureau reported that new orders for durable goods in July rose by 2.0%, much slower than the 4.1% gain in June. Also, the Mortgage Bankers’ Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage application composite index came in at 0.2% in the week ended August 21^st after rising 3.6% the prior week. We will go more into depth on these reports in the afternoon note.