Stocks closed mostly lower yesterday with only the Dow picking up a modest gain. That comes on the heels of Friday's positive close for the big three indexes, and positive weekly close.

Crude oil rose yesterday after Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia's main airport. The U.S. has said they might join Saudi Arabia in retaliatory attacks on the Houthis.

Additionally, a Russian attack on a Ukrainian power plant also lifted oil. While Ukraine is not a major producer of oil, Russia is. And the attack sent the wrong message after President Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, which would have the two countries refrain from bombing energy infrastructure. Notably, the U.S. and Russia entered into a deal where Russia would supply the U.S. and global markets with diesel fuel. The continued attacks call fulfillment of that deal into question.

As for Treasury yields, the bond market was closed yesterday due to Columbus Day.

We'll see what yields do today.

Influencing yields this week could be the upcoming inflation reports. On Wednesday, 10/14, we'll get the Consumer Price Index (CPI) retail inflation report. And on Thursday, 10/15, we'll get the Producer Price Index (PPI) wholesale inflation report.

The latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which is the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, showed inflation easing and coming in well below expectations. Still too high. But it was in stark contrast to the worrying that inflation would spike due to rising energy prices.

The market will be watching to see if the trend of inflation easing continues.

But given sharply reduced expectations for a rate hike at the next FOMC Announcement later this month (odds are now at 78.4% for no hike ? or just 21.6% for one), the market will quickly pivot to the start of earnings season this week.

Today we'll hear from big banks like JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Citigroup. The big banks continue tomorrow with Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock and State Street. And on Thursday we'll hear from Charles Schwab, U.S. Bancorp and PNC Financial. The market will also be watching to see if rising yields have had any negative impact on their earnings.

Of course, there's more than just banks this week. That includes Johnson & Johnson and UnitedHealth Group today; ASML Holding and Fastenal on Wednesday; and Taiwan Semiconductor and Infosys on Thursday to name a handful.

Earnings season is always an exciting time since stocks typically go up during earnings season. And I'm expecting another strong performance again for this one.

See you tomorrow,