It’s a relatively benign trading day.  At midday, all the major indices are trading in the green, albeit slightly.  Advancers are leading decliners 1602/1265 on the NYSE and 1508/1318 on the Nasdaq.  The energy sector is among the strongest sector today with WTI trading near its highest level since July 2015 at $57.09 a barrel, up 2.61%.  The shake-up in Saudi Arabia by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman is helping drive crude higher and could keep oil trending towards $70.  

On the other end of the spectrum, telecom is weak after the merger between Sprint (S) and T-Mobile (TMUS) was called off. This adds even more uncertainty to the potential deal between AT&T (T) and Time Warner (TWX) coming to fruition. 

More changes may be in store for the Federal Reserve as speculation mounts that New York Fed President Bill Dudley will announce his resignation.  He is speaking today.

Let’s stay on the sidelines for the remainder of the session.