SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Do HFT Algos Dream of Electronic Sheep?

Stocks were off to the races this morning as the short squeeze gathered some new momentum from the 'better than expected' results in global PMI overnight.

Stocks were interrupted in their ascent in the later afternoon on a flash report that a doctor who had been caring for the sick in Africa is being tested for ebola at Bellevue Hospital in NYC.

Stocks lost almost half their gains quickly as the algos saw the headline and triggered selling, and then recovered a bit into the close.

This is a thin, technically traded market. A simple headline such as this was able to knock it back on its heels. Be aware of this and take it into account if you are anything but a daytrader.

After the bell Microsoft posted better than expected earnings and revenues, while Amazon posted a horrendous miss, losing .95 per share versus an expected .74 per share. And their revenues missed badly as well.

It was a nice rally today, and it may continue tomorrow if nothing happens to scare the machine trading. Wall Street has a chance to post its best week in a year, and they may go for the headline if reality does not intrude.

Have a pleasant evening.