Before the Open (Mar 8)

Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mixed. Hong Kong and Singapore moved up; Japan and India moved down. Europe is currently mixed and little changed. Greece is up 1.8%, and Turkey is down 1.6%; otherwise there are no notable movers. Futures in the States point towards a flat 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 down; copper is up. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
I don’t have anything to add to the comments made in yesterday’s PM Observations. I don’t like the market in the near term.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Caterpillar (CAT +0.28%) is down nearly 3% in pre-market trading after a report commissioned by the government and reviewed by the NYT accuses the company of tax and accounting fraud.
Urban Outfitters (URBN -1.05%) was downgraded to ‘Market Perform’ from ‘Outperform’ at William Clair & Co.
Michaels Cos. (MIK +2.29%) was upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch with a price target of $28.
Armstrong World Industries (AWI -1.61%) slid 1% in after-hours trading after a 5.25 million share block was offered at $44.90-$45.40 via Deutsche Bank.
Skyworks Solutions (SWKS -0.42%) was rated a new ‘Outperform’ at Wells Fargo Securities.
Anadarko Petroleum (APC -0.14%) lost nearly 2% in after-hours trading after it said it sees 2017 capital expenditures (CAPEX) of $4.5 billion-$4.7 billion, more than consensus of $4.4 billion.
H&R Block (HRB -0.62%) jumped 7% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 revenue of $451.9 million, higher than consensus of $427.4 million.
Bojangles’ Inc. (BOJA -1.99%) dropped almost 8% in after-hours trading after it said it sees full-year revenue of $560 million-$569 million, less than consensus of $587.8 million.
Fox Factory Holding Corp. (FOXF unch) slid nearly 4% in after-hours trading after it announced a secondary public offering of 5.11 million shares.
Nimble Storage (NMBL +46.28%) was downgraded to ‘Sector Weight’ from ‘Overweight’ at Pacific Crest Securities.
Editas Medicine (EDIT +1.24%) fell nearly 6% in after-hours trading after it reported a Q4 EPS loss of -$1.10, much wider than consensus of -58 cents.
Aerovironment (AVAV +0.50%) rallied 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 gross margin of 36.0%, better than consensus of 26.9%.
Health Insurance Innovations (HIIQ -3.61%) tumbled 12% in after-hours trading after it announced a secondary public offering by selling stockholders, although no size was given.
ZAGG Inc. (ZAGG -1.64%) climbed over 6% in after-hours trading after it said it sees full-year net sales of $470 million-$500 million, above consensus of $455.8 million.
Today’s Economic Calendar
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
8:15 ADP Jobs Report
8:30 Productivity and Costs
10:00 Wholesale Trade
10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories
1:00 PM Results of $20B, 10-Year Note Auction
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings from Morningstar
this week’s Economic Numbers/Reports powered by ECONODAY