It’s been a real slog today, as markets never took the bait from the higher initial jobless claims. The big drag are Financials, which are being pulled down by regional banks and those associated with cryptocurrency.

It’s unlikely there would be a serious contagion effect from another failed exchange but take a look at the largest decliners on the S&P 500 today.

This is ugly.

Meanwhile, we are bracing for those jobs numbers and all the assumptions about the consumer.  But the big splurge in January is over, and while services remain high, in part to inflated prices, this is more evidence the consumer is pulling back.