Short-Squeezers Shredded As Dash-For-Trash Disappoints; Breadth Abysmal, Bitcoin Bad, Bullion Better

The shutdown drags on - and with it with a desert of data upon which to guess what the economy is doing. Today we weren't helped by Manufacturing PMIs which simultaneously rose and expanded and shrank and contracted with prices higher and lower and employment lower and higher. Choose your own adventure. The market didn't love the weak ISM data and sold at around 10ET but dip-buyers were back en masse 30 minutes later.

By the close, the Nasdaq was the leader followed by the S&P (thanks to Mega-Cap tech) while Small Caps were hammered (as short-squeezers were unable to ignite momentum). There was some weakness in the majors late on as Fed Governor Cook (yesm that one) warned that "RISKS TO FINANCIAL STABILITY 'ARE UNDER EVERY ROCK'" - an interesting choice of words after our earlier post on 'all hell breaking loose in the repo markets'. - but the market sustained its earlier positioning. S&P and Nasdaq green;The Dow and Small Caps red.