Dow wemt up 66, advancers over decliners 2-1 & NAZ pulled back 76.  The MLP index added 2+ to the 217s & the REIT index was even in the 353s.  Junk bond funds were little changed & Treasuries saw a little selling which raised yields.  Oil crawled up to the 73s after yesterday's big rise & gold recovered 16 to 1970.

AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)

Fed chair reveals exactly what led to Silicon Valley Bank's demise

Home prices continued to decline in Jan as higher mortgage rates dampened consumer demand for new houses.  Prices slid 0.6% nationally in the period from Dec to Jan, the 7th consecutive monthly decline, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index showed.  On an annual basis, prices are up just 3.8%, according to the index.  "Home prices fell again in January and are now barely higher than they were a year ago," said Jeff Tucker, a senior economist at Zillow.  "January’s home price weakness is yet more proof of the doldrums the housing market was stuck in during the fall and winter, when buyers and sellers were forced to come to terms with a new, relatively higher-interest-rate environment."  The 10-city composite, meanwhile, climbed 2.5% annually, down from 4.4% in Dec & the 20-city composite also increased 2.5% Jan, following a gain of 4.6% the previous month.  Prices declined in all 20 cities over the course of the month, except for Miami, which saw a 0.1% increase from Dec to Jan.  Cities that saw the biggest year-over-year decline include San Francisco (-7.6%), Seattle (-5.1%), Portland, Oregon (-0.5%) & San Diego (-1.4%).  "Despite this, the Federal Reserve remains focused on its inflation-reduction targets, which suggest that rates may remain elevated in the near-term," said Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI.  "Mortgage financing and the prospect of economic weakness are therefore likely to remain a headwind for housing prices for at least the next several months."  The Case-Shiller index reports with a 2-month delay, meaning it may not capture the latest slowdown in the market.  For months, higher mortgage rates have dampened consumer demand & brought down home prices.  But in Feb, for the first time in a record 131 straight months, about 11 years, home prices posted an annual decline, falling 0.2% from the same time one year ago, according to a separate release from the National Association of Realtors.

US home prices fell in January for seventh straight month

American manufacturers want to expand European ties, says survey

The hearing on SVB will get a lot of attention although much of the report has already been disclosed.  Now the big boys have to figure out how to fix the banking mess.  Meanwhile, traders are undecided about how to invest.  Additionally the economy is still stumbling along.

Dow Jones Industrials