Morning Report - Sentiment remains in hibernation

Vital Statistics:

	Last	Change	Percent
S&P Futures	1878.7	1.5	0.08%
Eurostoxx Index	3094.6	1.8	0.06%
Oil (WTI)	100.7	-0.4	-0.43%
LIBOR	0.233	-0.001	-0.45%
US Dollar Index (DXY)	79.85	0.081	0.10%
10 Year Govt Bond Yield	2.78%	0.00%
Current Coupon Ginnie Mae TBA	105.7	0.0
Current Coupon Fannie Mae TBA	104.3	0.0
RPX Composite Real Estate Index	200.7	-0.2
BankRate 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage	4.36

Markets are flattish this morning on no real news. Bonds and MBS are unchd.

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Report showed sentiment took a hit in February, falling from 94.1 to 91.4. January's big hiring plans seem to have been reversed. Aside from a plan to increase capital expenditures, there is not a lot to hang your hat on in this report. Small business sentiment remains firmly mired at recessionary levels, which is astounding when you consider the S&P 500 is at record levels.

Future expectations of home price appreciation took a step upward in February, according to Fannie Mae. Homeowners expect to see 3.2% home price appreciation over the next 12 months, which was a step up from January's 2% reading. 56% expect mortgage rates will increase over the next 12 months, while 33% expect them to be flat. 

And finally, given the theme of sentiment, economic confidence is waning, according to Gallup. This probably doesn't bode well for retail sales data coming out on Thursday. It is possible that weather is impacting this number, as it seems to have been blamed for everything else, but it is a bad omen for a 2H acceleration, which everyone seems to be forecasting.