Before the Open (Jul 31)

Good morning. Happy Wednesday. Happy Fed Day.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly down. Malaysia and Japan dropped more than 1%; Singapore and Taiwan also dropped noticeably. Europe is currently mixed. Greece and London are leading to the upside, Italy and Spain to the downside. Futures here in the States suggest a flat open for the cash market.

The dollar is flat. Oil and copper are up. Gold and silver are up.
Fed day is finally here. First rumors floated around that the Fed was going to taper their bond purchases in the fall and allow overnight rates to move up. These rumor were confirmed at the following FOMC meeting, which led to the S&P dropping almost 100 points in four days. After the stiff drop, some dovish Fed dudes came out and said it’s not a done deal, there’s still a way out if the economy doesn’t improve as they want. The market has rallied since.
It’s not fall, and no one expects the Fed to raise rates right now. But if their statement suggests a rate hike and bond tapering is a foregone conclusion regardless of other factors, such as the unemployment rate, the market may react negatively. If however the Fed talks nice and doesn’t back itself in a corner, the market may applaud.
I’m a technical trader. The technicals work best when there is no news, which is never. But most news doesn’t have the ability to move the market. This news item does, so my plan is to sit tight, make sure I have stops in place and see what happens. There are 250 trading days/year. I don’t have to do something every day.
Here are company headlines from barchart.com…
American Tower (AMT +0.35%) reported Q2 EPS of 92 cents, better than consensus of 91 cents.
ADT Corp. (ADT +2.26%) reported Q3 EPS of 53 cents, stronger than consensus of 43 cents.
Comcast (CMCSA -1.59%) reported Q2 EPS of 65 cents, better than expectations of 63 cents.
Humana (HUM -1.52%) reported Q2 EPS of $2.63, well ahead of consensus of $2.47.
PolyOne (POL +2.12%) reported Q2 adjusted EPS of 37 cents, better than consensus of 35 cents.
Genworth (GNW +0.60%) reported Q2 adjusted EPS of 27 cents, lower than consensus of 29 cents.
Cubist (CBST +1.86%) said it will acquire Optimer (OPTR -1.12%) for $10.75 per share in cash or $535 million on a fully diluted basis, and Cubist said it will also acquire Trius Therapeutics (TSRX +2.27%) for $13.50 per share in cash or $707 million on a fully diluted basis.
CBOE Holdings (CBOE +0.53%) raised its quarterly dividend to 18 cents per share from 15 cents per share.
Chicago Bridge & Iron (CBI +0.42%) reported Q2 EPS with items 98 cents, below consensus of $1.03.
Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD -0.71%) reported Q2 EPS of 88 cents, stronger than consensus of 79 cents.
Aflac (AFL -0.26%) reported Q2 adjusted EPS of $1.62, well ahead of consensus of $1.51, and said it intends to repurchase $600 million of its own stock for 2013.
Hanesbrands (HBI -0.55%) reported Q2 EPS of $1.19, stronger than consensus of 94 cents, and raised its 2013 EPS outlook to $3.50-$3.65 from $3.25-$3.40.
Amgen (AMGN +1.67%) reported Q2 EPS of $1.89, well ahead of consensus of $1.74, and said it sees fiscal 2013 EPS at the upper end of $7.30-$7.45, better than consensus of $7.29.
Fiserv (FISV +0.12%) reported Q2 adjusted EPS of $1.50, better than consensus of $1.44.
Symantec (SYMC +1.16%) rose nearly 4% in pre-market trading after it reported Q1 EPS of 44 cents, stronger than consensus of 36 cents.
From seekingalpha.com…
Notable earnings before today’s open: AB, ACCO, ADT, AGCO, AGN, ALR, AMED, AMT, AUO, BAH, BKW, CEVA, CMCSA, CNH, CYNO, DLPH, EGN, ENR, EXC, GAS, GIB, GOV , GRMN, H, HCBK, HERO, HES, HPY, HSP, HUM, HUN, INGR, IVZ, JNY, LPLA, LVLT, MA, MTOR, NGD, NI, PCG, PSX, SO, SODA, SPW, TASR, TFX, TLM, TSRA, VG, VNDA, WEC
Notable earnings after today’s close: AFFX, AHT, ALL, ARI, ATML, ATW, AUY, AXLL, AXTI, BALT, BGC, BJRI, BLMN, BRKR, CAVM, CBL, CBS, CBT, CJES, CNQR, CNW, CRAY, CRL, CTRP, CWT, DDR, DOX, DRE, DWA, DX, ENTR, ERII, ESS, FOE, FORM, GHDX, GNK, INT, IPI, ITRI, KEYW, KGC, LNC, LNDC, LOCK, LPSN, LRCX, MANT, MAR, MBLX, MCHP, MDU, MET, MMLP, MUR, NEWP, NOW, NXPI, OHI, OTEX, PCYC, PHH, PL, PSE, QEP, QUIK, REG, RGR, RKUS, ROVI, SAM, SFLY, SGEN, SLCA, SPWR, STMP, STR, SU, THOR, TRLA, TRN, UNTD, VNR, VVC, WEC, WFM, WMB, WPZ, WRI, YELP
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers
today’s upgrades/downgrades