US Mid-Morning Recap by TradeTheNews Staff - Equity futures were trading sharply lower ahead of the open amid continued weakness in overseas equity markets. Financial stocks opened very weak after Lehman cut its rating of CFC and lowered its outlook for the prime mortgage sector. CFC â4.4% MTG â1% LEND â16% WM â2% NEW â56% Trading stabilized after the open with investment bank/broker dealers and large cap banks rallying from the open. C +0.5% BAC 0.0% GS â0.3% LEH â0.25% The NASDAQ Composite bounced off its 200-day exponential moving average right after the open. Early weakness could be found in the semis after AMD â1.9% said they were unlikely to meet revenue forecasts, but many names have since reversed into positive territory. Indices continue to rally into positive territory even though the Feb non-manufacturing ISM reading was the lowest since April 2007. AAPL +1.6% has been strong throughout the session after it was upgraded at Prudential. Consumer stocks, beverages in particular, are performing well. KO +1.25% PEP +0.3% TAP +1.7% BUD +0.25% - The Japanese Yen continue to rise across the board. The USD/JPY traded as low as 115.14 but has retraced back the 116 level. The Dollar is advancing modestly against the Euro, Pound, and Australian Dollar. US Treasuries opened higher but have given back gains as equity markets have rebounded. 10-year â2/32 at 4.505%; 2-year down 0.5 ticks at 4.533% Gold has rallied back to unchanged after trading lower by nearly $10 amid the early equity weakness. Crude futures have been weak since the overnight session after comments from OPEC officials suggested they are content with the current output situation. April Crude down 2% to $60.35