House passes budget, but it was such a narrow margin of victory, the nail biter cast an even darker shadow over the ability to get tax reform or tax cuts through.  Certainly, President Trump’s desire for historic cuts might be in jeopardy as various factions in the GOP are going to play hardball with a week to go.  Financials are advancing further since the vote.

On the economy front, Initial Claims rose to 233,000 up 10,000 for the week ending in October 21 and the prior week was revised up 1,000 to 222,000. A better gauge, the 4-week moving average, declined 9,000 to 235,900 compared to a revised 248.500 in the prior week. While claims in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands remains “severely disrupted,” the data is indicative of a tight labor market.  Continuing claims continued to go down, and the 4- week moving average of 1,903,500 is the lowest levels since January 12, 1974, when it was 1,881,000.

On the housing front, Pending home sales were relatively flat at 106.0 in September, and down 3.5% year-over-year, it has declined five out of six months on an annualized basis. Tight supply, which has led to higher prices, and first time home buyers -29% of the market- continue to pressure the market.  Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors, affirms "While most of the country, except for the South, did see minor gains in contract signings last month, activity is falling further behind last year's pace because new listings aren't keeping up with what's being sold."

At midday, the markets are mixed with Dow, which has regain much of yesterday’s losses, and the S&P500 in the green, while the Nasdaq has turned negative.  Advancers led decliners 1534/1306 on the NYSE and 1440/1333 on the Nasdaq. 

Earnings have been mixed today with the good news being rewarded and bad news getting crushed:

• Tweeter (TWTR) +18%
• Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) +20%
• Celgene (CELG) -19%

The earnings parade continues after the bell with tech heavy weights Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Intel reporting.

Let’s stay on the sidelines for the remainder of the session.