The market acts like it wants to move higher in the face of a more uncertainty.  This morning, President Trump created anxiety in the markets when he tweeted promises to send missiles to Syria in response to a recent chemical weapons attack allegedly carried out by the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad.  This brought about strong rhetoric from Putin.  It also brought higher crude oil prices.

Crude oil is testing the $67 barrier I have previously spoken about.  Crude is currently trading at $66.98 and was as high as $67.38.  In other crude related news, Saudi Arabia announced it intercepted a ballistic missile over the capital city of Riyadh.  Yemen’s Houthis have stepped up missile attacks on the Saudi kingdom in retaliation for Saudi-led air raids.  Saudi Arabia's defense ministry was said to be the target of the missile attack. 

Gold also caught a bid in the wake of the international unrest.  Gold is trading at $1,362, up $16.80 (1.26%). 

On the economic front, The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its reading on March CPI.  Total CPI was -0.1, in-line with expectations.  The index was weighed down by a 2.8% decline in the energy component.  We expect that to reverse next month if crude remains strong.  Currently, crude is up 6.15% for the month of April.

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, was up 0.2%. Shelter and medical care services were up 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively.  This is the first decline in CPI in ten months.  Year over year, CPI is up 2.4% compared to the ten-year average of 1.6%. 

In more tweet related news, Tesla's (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk called out Goldman Sachs (GS) after the bank encouraged investors to sell TSLA’s stock. "Place your bets," Elon Musk quipped on Twitter.

I love the action in the market today as it is exhibiting tremendous resolve.  FOMC minutes are scheduled for release at 2 pm today.