What a difference a day makes. The markets were hit hard in the last 3 sessions and were ready for bounce, at least technically.  The Nasdaq was down 10% from its record high and closed near its 50-day moving average. Yesterday, all the S&P 500 sectors were down, and had lots 7% from its high.  Today, all the sectors are all up, with the hard-hit Technology sector leading the way higher, up over 3.5%.

The Dow was down over 600 points yesterday and has erased those loses, helped in large part Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL).  News is circulating that MSFT is getting ready to hike its dividend.

Airline and travel stocks are getting hit today after the halt of AstraZeneca’s (AZN) Covid-19 vaccine trial was halted.

Breadth, advancers and new highs are all decidedly positive.

On the economic front, mortgage applications rose 2.9% last week for the first time since August 7. Refinance applications increased 3% and purchase applications gained 2.6%.

On the jobs front, openings rose by 617,000 in August, up from 6.618 in July. Openings, however, are still 7 million below pre-pandemic levels. Retail trade (+172k) saw the largest gain, followed by health care and social assistance (+146k), and construction (+90k).

• New Hires -1,183,000 to 5.8 million
• Total Separations relatively flat at 5 million