Before the Open (Nov 1)

Good morning. Happy Friday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mixed. Indonesia, Japan and Taiwan dropped noticeably; China and South Korea rallied a little. Europe is currently mixed. Italy and Spain are down the most; Amsterdam is up the most. Most indexes have moved little from their unchanged levels. Futures here in the States point towards a positive open for the cash market.

The dollar is up. Oil is down, copper up. Gold and silver down.
As of now the market is posting a small loss for the week. This isn’t a big deal considering the three big up weeks preceding it and the 120-point SPX rally off the lows, but the candle is ugly. The market moved up initially and then down the last two days. This has produced a long upper tail on the weekly candle and hints at more weakness to come.
IMO, more weakness would ideal. I like this market. I like the trend. I like Fed (from a trading standpoint). I like that the market is doing much better than hedge fund managers who will have to chase gains into the end of the year. Because of all this, I’d prefer short term weakness to shake out the weak longs and cast a little doubt on a year-end rally. Then the market will psychologically be better set up for a rally into 2014.
Don’t fight a drop if it plays out. Be thrilled that it’s happening. Then we’ll get to buy stocks at lower levels. 🙂
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Facebook (FB +2.45%) was upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ at Argus with a price target of $64.
Netflix (NFLX +1.36%) was upgraded to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Neutral’ at RW Baird who raised their price target on the stock to $420 from $383.
WellCare (WCG +0.68%) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of $1.56, better than consensus of $1.52, but then lowered guidance on fiscal 2013 EPS to $4.70-$4.80 from $4.70-$4.90, below consensus of $4.91.
Citigroup reiterated its ‘Buy’ raing on Mastercard (MA -1.18%) and raised its price target oon the stock to $835 from $710.
Bebe stores (BEBE +0.33%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at Janney Capital.
PetSmart (PETM -0.07%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at BofA/Merrill.
Greenbrier ({=GBX was upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Underperform’ at BofA/Merrill.
MDU Resources (MDU -0.17%) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 49 cents, better than consensus of 46 cents, and then raised guidance on fiscal 2013 adjusted EPS view to $1.35-$1.45 from $1.30-$1.40.
Barrick Gold (ABX -5.41%) filed to sell 163.5 million shares of common stock.
Northeast Utilities (NU -0.53%) reported Q3 EPS of 66 cents, weaker than consensus of 73 cents.
Gabelli reported a 5.05% stake in Global Sources (GSOL -3.48%) .
Republic Services (RSG +0.36%) reported Q3 EPS of 55 cents, higher than consensus of 50 cents.
Newmont Mining (NEM -2.78%) reported Q3 EPS of 46 cents, well ahead of consensus of 32 cents.
Oaktree Capital reported a 6.8% stake in Contango Oil & Gas (MCF -2.08%) .
MRC Global (MRC -0.78%) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 40 cents, weaker than consensus of 45 cents.
First Solar (FSLR -2.12%) climbed 8% in pre-market trading after it reported Q3 EPS ex-charges of $2.28, more than double consensus of $1.00, and then raised guidance on fiscal 2013 EPS view to $4.25-$4.50 from $3.75-$4.25, well above consensus of $3.77.
Fluor (FLR -2.35%) reported Q3 EPS of $1.05, better than consensus of $1.04.
Mohawk (MHK -0.38%) reported Q3 EPS ex-items of $2.02, well above consensus of $1.90.
AIG (AIG -0.62%) reported Q3 EPS of 96 cents, higher than consensus of 95 cents.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s economic calendar:
Auto sales
8:58 PMI Manufacturing Index
10:00 ISM Manufacturing Index
Notable earnings before today’s open: ACW, ALE, AXL, BPL, BRKR, CBOE, CHD, CVI, CVRR, CVX, GEL, GWR, IPGP, MSG, NCT, NEE, NRF, NVE, OAK, OMG, POR, RUTH, SPR, UAN, UPL,USM, WCG, XLS
Notable earnings after today’s close: none
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers