After more than a week of very little in the way of news to work with, traders are being bombarded with inputs this morning.

In Europe, the all-important ZEW economic surveys showed that the outlook for the economies of Germany and the Eurozone continues to fade. In Germany, the index fell to 27.1 from 29.8 last month and the Eurozone reading was 61.8, which was below the consensus for 62.3. This coupled with the ongoing banking concerns have the major market indices moving down in afternoon trade across the pond.

Here at home, traders are focused on both the data and some very big name earnings reports. JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs both blew away EPS and revenue estimates and the report from Johnson & Johnson also above analyst expectations.

In economic news, the Empire Manufacturing Index was strong. The survey of businesses in the New York region showed that business conditions improved significantly for a 3rd consecutive month as the index moved to its highest level in 4 years. Next, Retail Sales were disappointing again as the June headline came in at +0.2% versus expectations for +0.6%. However, May's level was revised to +0.5% from +0.3%.

Also note that Janet Yellen will provide her semi-annual testimony on Capitol Hill today and tomorrow.

U.S. stock futures are up fractionally and point to a mixed open on Wall Street.

Current Market Outlook

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