Wall Street mixed in volatile US session with plenty going on

After a stong open (US stocks rise to fresh record highs) Wall Street was mixed today with a number of factors at play, from geopolitical tensions, concerns over the forthcoming EU elections in Holland and France in particular, a flight to safety,  positive US data and hawkish Fed talk

First to note are treasury yields that were retreating with increasing political instability in Europe although the Fed fund futures were firmer on hawkish Fed speak. Investors backed the dollar after Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said he could support raising interest rates at the central bank’s March meeting and forecasted three hikes in 2017,“I think March is on the table. I would never take a meeting off the table.” However, Fed fund futures have pushed back chances of a hike from June to July. The US dollar index was up 0.3% while US 10yr treasury yields extended a week-old decline from 2.39% to 2.37% but only after a jump to 2.44%.

For stocks, strong corporate earnings were overshadowed by the positive trade deficit making a four-year high of $502.3 billion.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 37 points, or 0.2%, to close at 20,090 while the S&P 500 ended pretty much flat at 2,293 and the Nasdaq scored 10 points, or 0.2%, to finish at 5,674 and closing at an all-time high.