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“Stock market bubbles don’t grow out of thin air. They have a solid basis in reality, but reality as distorted by a misconception.” – George Soros

It’s been a relatively quiet pre-market session today as US futures are trading modestly above or below the flat line depending on the index. The economic calendar is also on the quiet side and there is very little in the way of major earnings reports on the calendar.  The Gulf coast is on watch this morning as Hurricane Laura has been upgraded to a category 3 storm and is likely to intensify further.

Be sure to check out today’s Morning Lineup for a rundown of the latest stock-specific news of note, market performance in the US and Europe, trends related to the COVID-19 outbreak, and much more.

One characteristic of a stock market bubble is the near-universal belief that equities can only go higher.  Based on yesterday’s weaker than expected Consumer Confidence report, not only are Americans worried about their overall economic well being, but they’re also not exactly bullish on the stock market.  In the question where respondents are asked their views on the stock market, the percentage of respondents who expect stock prices to go up stands at just 36.5% while 34.8% expect the equity market to go down.  When practically an equal number of US consumers expect stock prices to go up as go down, that hardly sounds like an investor base plagued with unbridled optimism.