The afternoon note is late today as we watched the White House coronavirus press conference, which is always eventful. 

For those that like to use market ticks during these sorts of things as a measurement of effectiveness, the market finished higher at the conclusion from where it started.  The market was substantially higher before the question and answer period.

• Dow + 378 when President Trump began speaking
• Dow +642 when Secretary Mnuchin began speaking
• Dow +790 when Mnuchin jetted off to pitch Congress
• Dow +1,000+ as health official answered questions about testing situation and reported snafus

The Dow slumped as the questions moved toward more of the gotcha stuff before settling higher, but off the highest points of the session.

The market loves the fact the Fed has been given the green light to fund the commercial paper market with up to $1.0 trillion dollars.   Main street should love that as well and will be thrilled with the notion of checks heading to mailboxes in the next couple of weeks.

The action today is tentative and focused on defensive sectors, making for a great test of investor appetite in the final hours of trading.