Before the Open (Feb 19)

Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. China, Indonesia and Singapore did well; Japan dropped. Europe is currently down across-the-board. Austria and Russia are down more than 1%; Switzerland, London and Germany are also down. Futures here in the States point towards a moderate gap down open for the cash market.

The dollar is flat. Oil is up, copper is flat. Gold and silver are down.
Yesterday the Dow and S&P traded quietly in a range while the Nas, small caps and mid caps trended up and posted decent gains for the day.
Here’s an update of the daily S&P. The index dropped 100 points in 8 days and then rallied 100 points in 8 days. Volume on the way up has been much lighter than on the way down – in fact other than the first two days, there have been no above-average volume days – and the index has moved up 7 of 8 days. A correction – either with time or a price decline – is due.

The trend is up, but in the very near term we have to be a little more conservative going long. A rest is due. The same stock patterns produces different results in different market environments. Today is different than two weeks ago. Overall I still like the upside and think the market will make new highs, but in the very near term, you have to expect at least a little chopping and churning before the next leg begins. More after the open.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Con-way (CNW -0.08%) was downgraded to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ at Wunderlich.
Zale (ZLC -0.20%) surged over 40% in pre-market trading after it agreed to be acquired by Signet Jewelers for $1.4 billion or $21 per share.
Garmin (GRMN +2.37%) reported Q4 EPS of 76 cents, stronger than consensus of 62 cents.
Host Hotels & Resorts (HST -0.68%) reported Q4 EPS of 33 cents, better than consensus of 31 cents.
Crossroads (CRDS -1.27%) filed patent infringement suits against Cisco (CSCO -0.66%) , NetApp (NTAP -0.25%) and Quantum (QTM +4.35%) .
Forest Labs reported a 13.2% stake in Trevena (TRVN +0.87%) .
Oceaneering (OII +1.85%) reported Q4 EPS of 86 cents, better than consensus of 84 cents.
CF Industries (CF -2.36%) reported Q4 EPS of $5.71, well ahead of consensus of $4.49.
Panera Bread (PNRA -2.83%) reported Q4 EPS of $1.96, better than consensus of $1.94.
Herbalife (HLF +3.83%) gained 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $1.28, higher than consensus of $1.25.
Flowserve (FLS -0.21%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $1.10, stronger than consensus of $1.01.
Fluor (FLR +0.58%) reported Q4 EPS of $1.01, higher than consensus of 98 cents.
Analog Devices (ADI +0.91%) reported Q1 EPS ex-items of 49 cents, better than consensus of 48 cents.
Bruker (BRKR -0.64%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 31 cents, higher than consensus of 28 cents.
Columbia Sportswear (COLM +2.21%) reported Q4 EPS of $1.05, stronger than consensus of 92 cents.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s economic calendar:
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
7:45 ICSC Retail Store Sales
8:30 Producer Price Index
8:30 Housing Starts
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
2:00 PM FOMC minutes
Notable earnings before today’s open: CCC, CNK, DVN, DX, EV, GEO, GRMN, HCN, HL, HST, LAD, LL, MDCO, MGM, NM, NOR, OCR, SAVE, SIX, SUNE, TX, WAB, XEC, ZBRA
Notable earnings after today’s close: ACHC, AMTG, ARII, ARRS, ASGN, AVG, AWAY, AXLL, BAS, BJRI, CAR, CSGP, CW, CXO, DENN, ELNK, EPAM, EQIX, ESV, ETE, ETP, GDP, HAWK, HLS, HLX, HOS, HR, IAG, IVR, JACK, LGCY, LOCK, MANT, MAR, MM, OIS, PGTI, PVA, RBCN, REXX, RGP, SNPS, STR, SWY, SXL, TILE, TRN, TSLA, TSRO, UNTD, VECO, VVC, WMB, WPZ
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers