Where's the US markets going?

It was shaping up to be another negative day on Wall Street. Asian markets closed very low on fear of U.S. economic recession, and economic reading on new home sales disappointed. The stock market managed a smart recovery, though, as traders are positive for a rate cut and embraced several better than expected earnings reports.On the economic front, December new home sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 604,000 which is 4.7% less than last month's reading and is 40.7% less than last year's number.Our economists expected sales to come in at 647,000.The median sales price of a new house in December was $219,200. This equates to a 10.9% price drop year-over-year, the largest decline in nearly four decades. At the current sales rate, there is a 9.6 month supply of new homes. In 2007, there were an estimated 774,000 new homes sold, down 26.4% from 2006.The number of new home sales is very low, and the large supply of inventory should keep pressure on prices for some time. Homebuilders (+6.4%) shrugged off the negative report. The group is up 36.5% in the last five sessions.Stocks fell to their session lows shortly after the release, but then recovered smartly into positive territory as traders increased their bets on the size of a fed funds rate cut on Jan. 30.Fed funds futures currently indicate an 88% chance of a 50 basis point rate cut, with a 25 basis point cut fully priced in. Prior to today's action, futures suggested a smaller 70% chance of a 50 basis point cut.Of the 22 companies that reported earnings this morning, 12 beat expectations, three met, and seven missed. Some of the notable companies that topped estimates include Corning (GLW 23.10, +0.73), Halliburton (HAL 33.55, +0.46), McDonald's (MCD 51.07, -3.03) and Sysco (SYY 28.33, +0.72). McDonald's traded lower though, as traders were disappointed with its flat December U.S. same-store sales. Verizon (VZ 38.11, +0.35) met expectations.All ten sectors advanced. The financial sector (+3.3%) posted the largest gains, as it stands to benefit from a lower fed funds rate. Beaten down telecoms (+2.6%) came in second. Tech (+0.4%) underperformed on a relative basis due to lack of leadership within the sector.All I can say is volatility is here to stay in the markets for the coming two days especially in Asian markets.

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