The global economy continues to rock, and America is gaining momentum.  Caterpillar reported great February 2018 retail sales.

February versus January Total Retail Machine Sales: 

• Asia Pacific 41% versus +51%
• EAME: +30% versus +31%
• Latin America: +39% versus +49%
• North America: +30% versus +23%
• World: +33% versus +34%

February versus January Total Energy & Transportation Sales:

• Industrial +12% versus +13%
• Oil and gas +29% versus +27%
• Power Gen +19% versus +8%
• Transportation +6% versus +10%
• Total +21% versus +16%

It’s official.  Rex Tillerson is out as Secretary of the State and Mike Pompeo will replace him.  Gina Haspel will replace Pompeo as the Director of the CIA.  She will be the first woman to ever hold this position.  But not only was Tillerson let go, but his aide Steve Goldstein was also fired for allegedly contradicting the White House’s official position on the firing. 

The Tillerson news didn’t move the markets much at the open.  However, the markets couldn’t hold on to those gains and all the major indices are in the red.  General Electric is a drag on the Dow, down another 4% after JP Morgan downgraded its target price on the stock to $11.

Energy, Financials and Technology are among the worst performing sectors as many of the high fliers are giving some of their recent gains back. Semiconductors and financials are taking a breather, down 1.15% and 0.70%, respectively.  On the topic of energy, oil is down today as U.S. shale output surges and is expected to increase 6.95 million barrels per day in April, a record, according to government forecast. WTI is down 1.3% to $60.55.  Transports are picking up the slack and are up 0.58% as oil trades down 1.30%.     

Equity markets are still waiting on a catalyst to get things moving.  Without a catalyst, the market will most likely drift lower as it back and fills.