It wound up being another very slow and quiet trading session. Beneath the surface there were plenty of moving pieces and headlines but the net result was to leave the broader narrative unchanged and the tape pretty flat. Desk flows continue to follow a similar pattern — busy at the open (usually around earnings-specific situations) before quieting materially into the afternoon and staying that way through the close. Stepping back, this tape still feels like it’s in a period of consolidation and digestion although this doesn’t have to mean anything other than sideways action (the S&P hasn’t budged since the middle of Jul).