Before the Open (Mar 7)

Good morning. Happy Tuesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed with a lean to the upside, but movement was minimal. Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan led to the upside; there were no other notable movers. Europe is currently mixed and little changed. Russia and Hungary are down more than 1%; Poland is also weak. Futures in the States point towards a down open for the cash market.
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VIDEO: There’s a Bull Market Somewhere
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The dollar is up. Oil is up; copper is down. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
I’ve sounded like a broken record lately…saying I like the market long term (I really do), but I don’t like it in the near term (I don’t).
I call it as I see it. There’s been enough beneath-the-surface deterioration that combined with the rotation of money into safe-havens and the gains in place, I could conclude the easy money had been made and a rest was needed.
Yesterday the Russell 2000 small caps closed at its lowest level in 3 weeks. Anyone looking for a local top has had their patience tested. I’m one of them. Oh well. The market operates on its own schedule. If that means I have to sit tight and wait for the next round of opportunities, so be it. Sometimes not being super aggressive is the best course of action.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Casey’s General Stores (CASY +0.25%) dropped 4% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 EPS of 58 cents, well below consensus of 88 cents.
Hyatt Hotels (H -0.66%) was upgraded to “Equalweight’ from ‘Underweight’ at Morgan Stanley with a price target of $53.
Weatherford International PLC (WFT +1.90%) jumped 14% in pre-market trading after it tapped Halliburton CFO Mark McCollum to be CEO at Weatherford.
DISH Network (DISH +0.08%) rallied nearly 5% in after-hours trading after it was announced that it will replace Linear Technology in the S&P 500 before the open on Monday, March 13.
salesforce.com (CRM +0.34%) gained 2% in after-hours trading after it announced an artificial intelligence software pact with IBM.
Extended Stay America (STAY -0.46%) fell over 2% in after-hours trading after it announced a secondary offering of 25 million paired shares.
Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (HASI +0.55%) slipped nearly 4% in after-hours trading after it announced a public offering of 3.0 million shares of common stock.
First Republic Bank/CA (FRC +0.10%) lost nearly 2% in after-hours trading after it announced a 2.0 million share common stock offering.
La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. (LJPC -4.05%) climbed nearly 4% in after-hours trading on signs of insider buying by Tang Capital Management.
Pacira Pharmaceuticals (PCRX -3.96%) fell 5% in after-hours trading after it announced a $300 million offering of convertible senior notes due in 2022.
MeetMe (MEET +5.41%) surged 20% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 19 cents, better than consensus of 17 cents, and then acquired If(we) for $60 million in cash.
Pier 1 Imports (PIR -3.62%) jumped 5% in after-hours trading after it reported preliminary Q4 adjusted EPS of 32 cents-34 cents, above consensus of 31 cents.
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 International Trade
8:30 Gallup US ECI
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
1:00 PM Results of $24B, 3-Year Note Auction
3:00 PM Consumer Credit
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings from Morningstar
this week’s Economic Numbers/Reports powered by ECONODAY