The Day Ahead: Stocks Higher for 7th Consecutive Session?

Tuesday morning begins on a light note but in the afternoon the Treasury releases its final budget statement for fiscal year 2009, and the third-quarter earnings sessions resumes from last week with Intel and J&J. 

Ninety minutes before the opening bell, the S&P 500 is looking up 1.75 points to 1,073, a fresh annual high after six days of gains.

WTI Crude is trading $1.03 higher at $74.30 per barrel, and Spot Gold is up $9.60 to $1066.70 per ounce.

Treasuries, rebounding from last week, are seeing yields fall; the benchmark 10-year yield is down four basis points to 3.34%. 

Key Events Today:

7:30 ― Christina Romer, head of White House’s economic advisors, will address NABE annual meeting in St. Louis. (No comments have hit wires as of 8:15am)

12:00 ―Donald Kohn, Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve, will address the NABE annual meeting in St. Louis.

1:15 ― William Dudley, President of the New York Fed, speaks to the Institute of International Bankers.

2:00 ― The Treasury releases its final Budget Statement for fiscal year 2009. In the first 11 months the debt expanded by $1.378 trillion (compared to just $500.5 billion in the year before). September is often a surplus month, but not this year: the median estimate is -$31 billion, with estimates ranging from -$30 billion to -$98 billion. 

Analysts from Nomura are on the pessimistic side of the spectrum, believing the annual deficit will be around $1.5 trillion. They a $98 billion debt in September would be “a fitting conclusion to a fiscal year in which the deficit expanded roughly tripled as a share of GDP.” 

• Treasury Auctions:
• 1:00 ― 3-Month Bills