Before the Open (Apr 23)

Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mixed. Japan, Australia and New Zealand did well; Hong Kong and Singapore did not. Europe currently leans to the downside. Greece and Amsterdam lost more than 1%; Norway and Prague also did poorly. Austria did well. Futures here in the States point towards a down open for the cash market.

The dollar is down. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are up.
The market rallied again yesterday…for the 6th straight day. Volume was stronger than Monday but below-average overall. When does a dead-cat bounce turn into a full-blown rally? In the case of the Dow and SPX, the answer is “it has already happened.” In the case of the Nas and Russell small caps, the answer is “more upside is needed and a minor dip that gets bought is needed to officially end the downtrend.”
This is the crux of the situation right now. The Nas and Russell fell much more on the way down, and although they’ve done well since bottoming at the beginning of last week, they carry a much steeper burden of proof than the other indexes. The overall market will match their performance.
Keep it simple. And remember, this is earnings season. If you’re in a position that’s considered a trade, don’t hold into earnings. Too much risk. More after the open.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Procter & Gamble (PG -0.38%) reported Q3 EPS of $1.04, higher than consensus of $1.02.
Northrop Grumman (NOC -1.98%) reported Q1 EPS of $2.63, much better than consensus of $2.15.
Yum! Brands (YUM +1.93%) gained almost 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 EPS ex-items of 87 cents, higher than consensus of 85 cents, and said Q1 same-store-sales in its China division were up 9%.
Boeing (BA -0.21%) announced that Shandong Airlines commits to order fifty 737s.
W. R. Berkley (WRB +0.22%) reported Q1 EPS of $1.25, well ahead of consensus of 79 cents.
Illumina (ILMN +4.79%) rose 6% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 53 cents, stronger than consensus of 44 cents, and then raised guidance on fiscal 2014 EPS view to $2.10-$2.15, higher than consensus of $2.05.
International Game (IGT +0.50%) reported Q2 adjusted EPS of 20 cents, higher than consensus of 19 cents.
Discover (DFS -0.18%) reported Q1 EPS of $1.31, better than consensus of $1.25.
C.R. Bard (BCR -0.01%) reported Q1 adjusted EPS $1.91, higher than consensus of $1.84.
Skechers (SKX +2.64%) reported Q1 EPS of 61 cents, nearly double consensus of 33 cents.
FMC Technologies (FTI +0.18%) reported Q1 EPS of 57 cents, higher than consensus of 50 cents.
Covanta (CVA +1.18%) reported a Q1 adjusted EPS loss of -3 cents, five times better than consensus of a -15 cent loss.
Juniper (JNPR +1.85%) reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 29 cents, right on consensus, but reported Q1 revenue of $1.17 billion, better than consensus of $1.15 billion.
Amgen (AMGN +1.95%) lost nearly 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 EPS of $1.87, below consensus of $1.94.
Gilead (GILD +1.76%) climbed nearly 4% in pre-market trading after it reported Q1 EPS of $1.48, well above consensus of 89 cents.
Cree (CREE +0.85%) reported Q3 EPS of 39 cents, better than consensus of 38 cents.
VMware (VMW +0.30%) reported Q1 EPS of 80 cents, higher than consensus of 79 cents.
AT&T (T +0.64%) fell over 2% in pre-market trading even after it reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 71 cents, better than consensus of 70 cents.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s economic calendar:
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
9:00 PMI Manufacturing Index Flash
10:00 New Home Sales
10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories
1:00 PM Results of $35B, 5-Year Note Auction
Notable earnings before today’s open: ABG, AMTD, APD, APH, ARMH, AVY, BA, BABY, BCC, BEAV, BIIB, BPOP, CFR, CLS, DAL, DOW, DPS, EAT, EMC, ENTG, ERIC, EVR, FDML, GCI, GD, GNTX, GRA, HERO, IR, JAKK, JCI, KNX, LECO, MAN, MDCO, MKTX, MTH, NEO, NOC, NOR, NS, NSC, OC, OCR, PB, PG, PII, PX, R, RAI, RES, SEIC, SIX, SVU, TDY, TEL, TMO, TUP, WAB
Notable earnings after today’s close: AAPL, AHL, AIZ, ALGN, ALGT, ANGI, ASGN, AVB, AWH, BRKL, CAKE, CBI, CCI, CHDN, CLB, CLW, CSGP, CTXS, EFX, ELY, ETFC, FB, FFIV, FIO, FLS, FNB, FOE, FR, FTNT, GGG, GHL, GRT, HAWK, IM, INFN, KALU, KFN, LOGI, LPLA, LRCX, MKSI, NEU, NOW, NXPI, OII, ORLY, PEI, PLCM, QCOM, QDEL, RE, RHI, RJF, RMD, SCI, SFG, SLG, SPNC, SUSQ, SWY, SXC, SYA, SYK, TAL, TCBI, TER, TILE, TQNT, TSCO, TXN, TYL, USTR, VAR, XLNX, ZNGA
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers