The Day Ahead: Last of the Week's Economic Data, but does Data Even Matter?

Wednesday brings the last of the week's economic data, borrowed from their regularly scheduled days to accommodate the holiday schedule.  Though markets are only fully closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving, Friday's half day is more of a courtesy "housekeeping day" rather than a legitimate backdrop for thorough market participation.  As such, the Consumer Sentiment report that would normally arrive at 9:55am on Friday will instead join Jobless Claims (itself, displaced from their normal Thursday time slot) to comprise the most robust morning of economic data of the week.  Even the 10yr TIPS auction is moved up to 11:30am Eastern.

But if the first part of the week (and indeed, this seems true for many instances in the previous week) is any indication, economic data and events would have to speak quite loudly in order to trump tradeflows (various account types needing/wanting to adjust various positions for various reasons unrelated to the day's economic events), technicals (trading based upon the outright levels of the securities in question rather than the fundamental data that ostensibly speaks to their future prospects), and headline risk (both positive and negative "risk" associated with things like the potential ceasefire in the Middle east or the recent bailout deal for Greece).