Deja vu on the market again this morning. The concern? Europe. Just when you thought it was safe to go back outside another sovereign debt issue creeps up. This time around it is Spain. Plus mix in some Chinese growth concerns and you have the right mix for a volatile day on the street. Dow futures are negative this morning down 30 points to 13,023. Nasdaq 100 futures are down just over 6 points to 2,761. The S&P 500 futures are rounding out the pre-market volatility, down slightly to 1,396.50.

The big economic data point out this morning is jobless claims. A print of 359k is being spun as a decline by the BLS because of an upward revision of last week’s numbers. What an awesome tool to have. This week’s numbers are great because I could not add correctly last week, so those were actually worse. Beginning to wonder if they have ever had to revise the number downward.

Spanish and European officials are denying the reports that EU officials have been urging their Spanish counterparts to start the process of seeking a bailout from the IMF and ECB. Of course if this story sounds familiar, it is because you just watched the trilogy in Greece. Spain’s austerity drive has already prompted a country-wide strike and will likely lead to further political turmoil in the country.

Sliding growth in China also has investors concerned. The constant misses on their manufacturing numbers have increased the fear of a hard landing in the country. Plus investors think the slowdown is tied to Europe so that has them girding for more EU misery.

Commodities continue to e extremely volatile this morning. Gold prices essentially flat after whipsawing between positive and negative territory. [Read more...]