MIDDAY LUNCH

Dow +110.79 at 10859.05, Nasdaq +38.76 at 2414.07, S&P +11.30 at 1167.09

The market is off session highs but still posting nice gains with all ten major sectors posting gains.  Some of today’s gains can be attributed to Germany reporting a stronger-than-expected 0.2% increase in the country's first quarter GDP. The DAX closed up +2.4% in trading.

The Treasury Department released its budget for April. The budget showed a $82.7 billion deficit, which was much more than the $52.9 billion that economist had estimated.  The budget deficit is also the largest ever recorded for April.

The Treasury also released results from its auction of 10-year Notes.  The auction drew a lower-than-expected yield of almost 3.55% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.96, which is down from the prior auction, but slightly above recent averages. 

Volatility is down -10% today according to the Volatility Index (VIX) or “fear Index”. So far this week the VIX is down nearly -40%, but it’s still up more than +60% from its 52-week low.

Shares of Cisco Systems (CSCO) 26.70 +0.74, +2.89% are higher today in anticipation of the company releasing its quarterly earnings report after the market close.  Consensus estimates are for the company to report earnings of $0.39 versus $0.30 for the year-over-year period.