The major indices are all in the red today as the latest earnings results have been mixed. At midday, the NYSE advancers trail decliners 1020/1831 and on the Nasdaq 788/1833. Consumer Staples and Utilities, defensive plays, are strong while Consumer Discretionary, Industrials, Materials and Technology are weak.  On the Dow, Procter & Gamble is outperforming and is up 4.3% after reporting earnings that beat bottom line estimates and reaffirmed its fully year guidance, while 3M is a drag and down 3.19%.

The latest consumer confidence was below the 101.5 expectation coming in at 98.6 in October from a revised 103.5. According to Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, “Consumers’ assessment of current business and employment conditions softened, while optimism regarding the short-term outlook retreated somewhat. However, consumers’ expectations regarding their income prospects in the coming months were relatively unchanged. Overall, sentiment is that the economy will continue to expand in the near-term, but at a moderate pace.”  

Highlights:

• Those saying business conditions were “good” fell more than 2% to 26.2%
• Those saying business conditions were “bad” increased by almost 2% to 17.7%
• Those saying jobs are “plentiful” decreased from 27.6 percent to 24.3 percent

On the housing front, the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, was up 5.3% on an annual basis in August, compared to 5.0% in July. The 20-City Composite was up 5.1% year over year, while home prices increased slightly due to measured but positive economic growth, increase in prices and wider home affordability. The top cities with gains were Portland, Oregon, up 11.7%, Seattle up 11.4% and Denver up 8.8% from the prior year.  

Demand from India helped boost Gold prices. That, coupled with the back and forth on a December rate hike, which the market has priced in a 70% chance, has support for Gold in the $1250 to $1260 range. The dollar index is relatively flat today, however the Yuan hit its lowest level against the greenback since offshore trading began in 2010. 

All eyes will be on Apple as it reports its earnings after the bell.