Before the Open (Apr 18)

Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up and with relatively big gains. Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines led the way. Europe, Africa and the Middle East currently lean to the upside. The UK, South Africa, Russia, Norway and Hungary are leading; the UAE and Kenya are weak. Futures in the States point towards a moderate gap up open for the cash market.
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Podcast: with Chat With Traders
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The dollar is flat. Oil and copper are up. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are down.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Morgan Stanley (MS -0.30%) is up nearly 2% in pre-market trading after it reported Q1 net revenue of $11.08 billion, better than consensus of $10.36 billion.
Dollar Tree (DLTR +1.35%) is indicated to open higher by nearly 2% after it was upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ at Loop Capital Markets with a price target of $120.
M&T Bank (MTB -2.28%) was upgraded to ‘Strong Buy’ from ‘Outperform’ at Vining Sparks with a price target of $220.
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG +4.08%) rallied over 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 adjusted EPS of $2.44, well above consensus of $2.07.
Lam Research (LRCX +4.31%) fell more than 2% in after-hours trading after it forecast Q4 shipments around $3 billion at the midpoint, below the $3.13 billion in shipments in Q3.
International Business Machines (IBM +1.91%) lost 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 adjusted gross margin of 43.7%, below consensus if 45.4%.
United Continental Holdings (UAL +0.04%) gained 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 50 cents, higher than consensus of 48 cents, and then raised guidance on full-year EPS to $7.00-$8.50 from a prior view of $6.50-$8.50.
Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG +1.41%) slid almost 4% in after-hours trading after it said it acquired Sunlight Supply for $450 million.
Badger Meter (BMI +0.99%) dropped 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 gross margin of 35%, weaker than consensus of 37.9%.
CSX (CSX +0.28%) rose nearly 4% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 revenue of $2.88 billion, above consensus of $2.79 billion.
Healthcare Services Group (HCSG -0.10%) fell nearly 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 revenue of $501.8 million, below consensus of $505.2 million.
South Jersey Industries (SJI +0.59%) slid almost 4% in after-hours trading after it announced that it plans to conduct concurrent registered public offerings, subject to market conditions and other factors, of up to $325 million of shares of its common stock.
Aeglea BioTherapeutics (AGLE +4.55%) tumbled 13% in after-hours trading after it announced that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of 4.5 million shares of its common stock.
Teligent (TLGT -0.66%) surged 17% in after-hours trading after it said the FDA approved its ANDA for Clobetasol Propionate Cream, the company’s fourth new drug approval of the year.
Tuesday’s Key Earnings
CSX (NYSE:CSX) +5.1% with turnaround efforts on track.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) +1.6% likely pausing a buyback.
IBM (NYSE:IBM) -5.7% AH amid weak guidance.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) -0.9% despite an earnings beat.
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) +3.6% upping full-year forecasts.
United Continental (NYSE:UAL) flat following higher fares.
Today’s Economic Calendar
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories
2:00 PM Fed’s Beige Book
3:15 PM Fed’s Dudley: Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings from Morningstar
this week’s Economic Numbers/Reports powered by ECONODAY