Before the Open (Dec 8)

Good morning. Happy Thursday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. Japan, Australia, India, South Korea and Taiwan each rallied more than 1%. Europe is currently up across-the-board. Russia, Spain and Italy are up more than 1%; France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Poland, Hungary and Portugal are also doing well. Futures in the States point towards a slight down open for the cash market.
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My podcast – with Chat With Traders
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The dollar is down. Oil and copper are up. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
The market is back in idiot mode. Except for the Nas and Nas 100, which aren’t doing bad, every index closed at a new all-time high yesterday.
Previous big up days for the S&P came immediately after plunges (Brexit) or sell-offs (heading into the election). But this one came at new highs and after 1-2 weeks of consolidation.
I’ve said all along I like the market and expect higher prices. I have no reason to abandon my SPX 2300-2400 price target I first mentioned much earlier in the year.
In the near term anything goes, including the market not making any sense. But overall the only side of the market to be on is the long side.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
L-3 Communications Holdings (LLL +1.96%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch with a price target of $170.
Priceline.com (PCLN +1.48%) was rated a new ‘Buy’ at CLSA with a price target of $1,900.
Tailored Brands (TLRD +3.39%) was upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ at Mizuho Securities with a 12-month target price of $25.
Lululemon Athletica (LULU +4.54%) surged 13% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 47 cents, higher than consensus of 43 cents, and then said its board approved up to $100 million in stock repurchases.
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings (OLLI +1.11%) fell over 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 comparable store sales rose +1.8%, below consensus of +2.1%.
Corning (GLW +2.46%) gained over 1% in after-hours trading after it announced a new $4 billion share repurchase program.
United Natural Foods (UNFI +0.88%) slid over 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 EPS of 58 cents, below consensus of 62 cents.
Verint Systems (VRNT +0.26%) tumbled over 12% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 59 cents, weaker than consensus of 70 cents, and then lowered guidance on fiscal 2017 adjusted EPS to $2.50, below a September 7 view of $2.85.
Comtech (CMTL +6.43%) dropped 7% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 revenue of $135.8 million, below consensus of $139.2 million, and then cut its quarterly dividend to 10 cents a share from 30 cents a share.
H&R Block (HRB +2.86%) jumped nearly 6% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 revenue of $131.3 million, higher than consensus of $127 million.
Casey’s General Stores (CASY +0.93%) fell over 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 EPS of $1.44, below consensus of $1.57.
Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR -1.93%) surged over 30% in after-hours trading after it announced positive results on its phase 1b trial of its VY-AADC01 gene therapy that showed improved measures of motor function in in patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease.
Wednesday’s Key Earnings
Costco (NASDAQ:COST) +1.2% AH with membership revenue growth.
Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) +15.8% AH on strong comps, big buyback.
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:00 Quarterly Services Report
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
Today’s Earnings here
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers