Jimmy Yates Quotations

The wake of Hurricane Katrina seems set to keep traders on edge ... and once again a break higher seems unlikely unless we see a change of tune from the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) with regard to monetary policy. Friday's Michigan sentiment figure may yet hold a degree of concern. Some forecasts are putting this number as low as 82 and so long as high fuel prices are with us, action may be required to ensure that domestic expansion can be maintained as we move towards the year end.

The markets have been on a very good run over the last few months. Perhaps this is the end of that trend.

Is this the start of a reverse trend or is it a correction at the start of a bull run ? It's hard to call.

In many ways traders were going to find a positive interpretation of this number difficult, but a fall over the September figure -- against forecast predictions of a small rise -- has underlined a genuine weakness in the U.S. economy, in turn weighing on stocks.

Wall Street has embraced the news in a positive manner, exploiting the fact that the U.S. economy is in robust shape rather than dwelling overly on the fact that this news paves the way for further rate hikes at the Federal Reserve.