Schacknow - TODAY'S PRIMER

Peter Schacknow, Senior Producer, CNBC Breaking News Desk

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

After two upbeat Septembers, the month is reverting back to historical form this year as the year's worst performing month: the Dow, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq have all posted their biggest 2-session drops to start September since 1974. Today's early action isn't likely to be much better, following a European market selloff Monday during Wall Street's Labor Day holiday. Japan's Nikkei Averages fell 2.2% overnight to close at a 2011 low.

Only one major economic report appears on today's schedule, and even an upbeat performance may not be enough to turn around negative market sentiment. The Institute for Supply Management will issue its August non-manufacturing index at 10am ET, measuring the strength of the U.S. services economy. Consensus forecasts call for a reading of 51.3, compared to July's 52.7. The earnings calendar is also extremely light today as U.S. investors return from the holiday weekend.

The U.S. treasury market is especially worth watching today, after the yield on the benchmark 10-year note dipped to 1.91%, the lowest in at least 60 years. The yield is only marginally above that level at the moment. Ditto for the currency markets, after the Swiss National Bank surprised traders by setting a minimum exchange rate of 1.20 Swiss francs to the euro. That's helped send the euro to a seven-week low against the dollar before the single currency rebounded - and also helped push gold prices down more than 2% after the metal hit another record high prior to the Swiss action.

The crude oil market - not to be left out of today's turbulence - is being pushed lower by worries about the world economy, though traders are also keeping track of limited Gulf of Mexico oil production due to Tropical Storm Lee.

Dell (DELL) and Baidu (BIDU) could be stocks to watch today, as Dell announces a partnership to develop tablet computers and mobile handsets. We'll also watch bank stocks such as Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and others, as the FHFA sues 17 firms in all over mortgage-related losses. The news of the suit had been widely reported during the trading day on Friday, though not confirmed until after the closing bell.