Good morning. Happy Tuesday.
So the 5 consecutive up days on declining volume with an unfilled gap was too much for the market. Sellers were aggressive yesterday – not super aggressive, but aggressive enough. The Nov 24 gap still sits unfilled, and after today’s expected gap up open, we’ll have two unfilled gaps below and yesterday’s unfilled gap above.
30 min before the open, Nas 100 futures were up 16 (1.46%) to trade at 1110.50 while SPX futures were up 17 (2.08%) to trade at 832.75.
The Asia/Pacific markets followed the US markets down. Japan fell more than 6%…Australia and Hong Kong more than 5%…Singapore, Seoul and Taiwan more than 3%. China was essentially flat.
The Bank of Australia unexpectedly dropped rates 100 basis points….market was expecting 75.
Europe is currently mostly up. Austria and Switzerland are down about 1%. Otherwise there are across the board gains. Norway leads the way with a 2% gain…Germany, Spain and Stockholm are up more than 1%. France up 0.90% and London up 0.67%.
European producer prices slowed more than expected in Oct (partly due to the fall in crude oil). The drop was the biggest monthly decline in 22 years. Dampening inflation enables the Bank of England and European Central Bank run to cut rates Thursday when they meet.
British Airways is supposedly in talks with Qantas (Australia).
Sears (SHLD) posted a much wider than expected Q3 loss due to weak sales at it Kmart and Sears US stores.
Beazer Homes (BZH) said its fiscal Q4 loss more than tripled as revenue plunged and it income tax provision ballooned.
Staples (SPLS) said Q3 profit dropped 43% mostly because of hefty charges from restructuring and the acquisition of Corporate Express.
Credit reporting agency TransUnion says the percentage of people who are two months behind on their mortgages shot up 4% in Q3, nearly double the historical average.
The Wall Street Journal reports Goldman Sachs (GS) is likely to report a loss of as much as $2 billion for Q4.
Delta Air Lines (DAL) hinted more job cuts may be coming in 2009 when it reduces capacity 6-8%.
The Big 3 automakers are in the process of submitting detailed plans as to how they’ll use the $25 billion they seek from Congress. Leaders of the United Auto Workers are holding an emergency meeting to discuss concession to help the auto companies.
GE (GE) expects to hit the low-end of Q4 guidance, and they expect to hold their 2009 dividend of $1.24 per share.
Mylan (MYL) and Novartis (NVS) have settled their patent dispute on Femara.
Walgreens (WAG) has reported a drop in November same store sales.
General Growth Properties (GGP) has received a loan extention.
Palm (PALM) shares are down before the open after it warned sales in the current quarter will miss expectations.
Biolase (BLTI) said it cut quarterly costs 20% as they continue to cut domestic jobs.
3,400 jobs at Washington Mutual are being cut.
Gold is up 1.69% and silver is up 3.90%.
Crude oil is up 12 cents to trade at 49.40 – the lowest level in several years.
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| UPGRADES | WSM, WXS, DSPG, CBY, MRX, NGG |
| DOWNGRADES | OMG, PALM, EMR, BHE, SLGN, PTV, TSRA, VDSI, DEO, RTP, GFI, GPN |
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| EARNINGS | |
| before the open | CRMT, BECN, BZH, ISLE, LDR, SHLD, SOLF, SPLS |
| during trading | none |
| after the close | MRVL, OVTI, TUTR, SIGM |
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ECONOMIC RELEASES
0:00 Auto Sales
0:00 Truck Sale
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