Desperate for any information amid the government shutdown-invoked vacuum of macro data, this morning we get a glimpse of more 'soft' survey data, showing that Non-Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia Fed region softened overall,

Additionally, the indexes for general activity at the firm level, new orders, and sales/revenues fell, with the latter two turning negative.

The firms reported an overall decrease in full-time employment.

Worse still, firms expected no change for growth over the next six months at the firm level and a decline in activity for the region. The diffusion index for future activity at the firm level fell 12 points to 0.2, its lowest reading since April

On the potentially bright side, Prices Paid and Received indices both fell last month (but remain positive, suggesting expectations for higher prices)...

Finally, since the shutdown began, what little hard data we have seen is basically flat while soft survey data has deteriorated significantly...

Of course, the big one will come on Friday when CPI is due to be released, and vol markets are aware of it...

Dip-buyers may want to reflect on that.