Before the Open (Jun 26)

Good morning. Happy Thursday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed with mostly solid gains. India dropped 1%, but Australia and Hong Kong rallied more than 1% and China, Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand and Korea did well too. Europe is currently mixed, and there’s not a single market up or down 0.5%. Futures here in the States point towards a flat open for the cash market.

The dollar is up. Oil is down, copper is up. Gold is down, silver is up.
Quick comment today because I’m running way behind schedule (my internet is so bad right now). We got a big move down (relatively speaking, it wasn’t that big) on Tuesday and then a nice recovery yesterday on lighter volume. The bears will say yesterday’s low volume suggests Wall St. isn’t all-in on the long side yet. The bulls will say: is that it, one stiff down day is all they could muster. Normally I’d say today is a key day because of the technical cross-currents, but that’s a lot to ask for a summer day – especially one where most of the US may be distracted by the World Cup game.
Long term I like the market. Short term things are iffy. Protect what you have, but don’t panic just because the market actually dropped one time. More after the open.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Estee Lauder (EL +0.64%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at B. Riley.
Accenture PLC (ACN +0.75%) reported Q3 EPS of $1.26, higher than consensus of $1.21.
McCormick (MKC -0.17%) reported Q2 EPS of 64 cents, better than consensus of 62 cents.
Lennar (LEN +1.14%) reported Q2 EPS of 61 cents, well ahaead of consensus of 51 cents.
C&J Energy (CJES +3.70%) said it will acquire Nabors (NBR +1.87%) completion and production businesses for $2.86 billion.
H.B. Fuller (FUL +0.32%) reported Q2 adjusted EPS of 78 cents, right on consensus, but then lowered guidance on fiscal 2014 EPS view to $2.80-$2.95 from $3.00-$3.15, well below consensus of $3.07.
Reuters reports that General Motors (GM +1.39%) told its North American dealers to halt sales of 2013-2014 Chevrolet Cruze sedans due to airbag issues.
Barclays (BCS -0.82%) is down over 5% in pre-market trading after the New York Attorney General announced a lawsuit against the bank from the operation of Barclays’ dark pool and other aspects of its electronic trading division.
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY +0.78%) dropped 6% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 EPS of 93 cents, weaker than consensus of 94 cents, and then said it expects Q2 EPS between $1.08-$1.16, below consensus of $1.20.
Iron Mountain (IRM -0.33%) surged over 15% in after-hours trading after its Board of Directors approved the company’s conversion to a real estate investment trust – a REIT – for the taxable year beginning January 1.
Disney (DIS +1.48%) was initiated with a ‘Buy’ at Jefferies with a price target of $100.
Gannett (GCI +5.07%) was initiated with a ‘Buy’ at Jefferies with a price target of $35.
Herman Miller (MLHR +1.31%) fell nearly 4% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 50 cents, better than consensus of 46 cents, but then said it sees sees Q1 EPS of 44 cents-48 cents, on the lower end of consensus of 48 cents.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s economic calendar:
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 Personal Income and Outlays
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
11:00 Kansas City Fed Mfg Survey
1:00 PM Results of $29B, 7-Year Note Auction
1:05 PM Fed’s Bullard: “Monetary Policy and Income Inequality”
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
Notable earnings before today’s open: ACN, CAG, LEN, MEI, MKC, SCHN, SCS, SJR, WGO, WOR
Notable earnings after today’s close: NKE, PRGS
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers