Friday's Market Recap - Tesla's Chairman Elon Musk Charged With Fraud By The SEC.

What is The Premarket Telling Us?

7:00 PM.

The markets set up this morning is on the weak side. Dow futures down 62 points, Nasdaq futures down 20 points, and S&P futures down 6 points. Asian markets were all positive overnight.

In Washington, the Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to vote on recommending Judge Kavannah's appointment to a full vote in the full Senate. Yesterday's testimonies by Dr. Ford, and Judge Kavanaugh, was a picture in contrast. Dr. Ford appeared very credible, as she told of her experience at the hands of Judge Kavanaugh, as a teenager, over thirty years ago. The Judge on the other hand, vigorously defended himself, but came across, very defensive, arrogant, belligerent, entitled, and very political, in his testimony.

On The Bond Desk:

The US 10 Year Bond Yield is unchanged at 3.06%.

Currency Desk:

Euro dollar: 1.15

UK Pound: 1.30

Crude Oil:

WTI crude oil futures slightly up at $72.14/barrel, up 0.03.

On the Earnings Calendar:

None

In M&A News:

None.

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What About The Asian And European Markets?

Major Asian markets were mostly higher . Japan (Nikkei 225) gained 1.36%, Shanghai rose 1.06 %, Hong Kong (Hang Seng) up 0.26%.

Major European markets fell moderately in today's session. German (DAX) down 1.52%, France CAC 40 fell 0.85%, London FTSE 100 lost 0.47%.

Market And Sector Dynamics

Markets started of the trading day lower. The Dow lost 47 points, Nasdaq down 11 points, and the S&P down 3 points. Shares of Tesla, are down big at the outset after news broke its Chairman & CEO, Elon Musk has been charged with fraud by the Security Exchanged Commission (SEC), for his now famous tweet, about taking the company private, at $420/share, stating also that financing had been secured.

Stocks turned positive at the midpoint of the morning session, and remained moderately higher for the rest of the session.

Six of the eleven S&P sectors close with losses today. Financials, basic materials, communication services, and energy led the losses. Utilities, real estate, technology, and healthcare were higher.

Factors Influencing Today's Market

• Tesla's Elon Musk being charged with Fraud, by the Security Exchange Commission was a negative for markets today

• Crude oil prices surged again in today's session. WTI crude oil closed at $73.25/barrel, up 1.57%.

• This weeks Baker Hughes Oil Rig count rose 3 to a total of 863.

• September Consumer sentiment came in at a healthy 100.1 vs 96.2 in August, but slightly less that the 100.80 in August.

• Asian markets traded mostly higher in their session.

Market Close Volume Traded And Advance Decline Ratio

When the closing bell rang, markets were flat to slightly higher. The Dow gained 18.38 points, Nasdaq rose 4.38 points, and the S&P was off 0.02 of a point. Total NYSE volume traded, a moderated 3.38 billion shares. Declining shares outpaced Advancing shares by 1.27:1.

Data Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN Money, Google Finance, Market Watch, TD Ameritrade, Yahoo Finance.