Before the Open (Oct 28)

Good morning. Happy Tuesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mixed, but the gains from the up markets were much bigger than the losses from the down markets. China led with a 2.1% gain, followed by Taiwan (up 1.7%) and Hong Kong (up 1.6%). Indonesia, Singapore and Japan dropped. Europe is currently posting solid, across-the-board gains. Germany, Italy, Spain, Amsterdam, Norway, Stockholm, Switzerland and Russia are up more than 1%. Futures here in the States point towards a sizable gap up open for the cash market.

The dollar is up. Oil and copper are up. Gold and silver are up.
Yesterday the market rested within Friday’s high and low (an inside day). It was weakish early in the day but then closed near its intraday high. Now we’re going to get decent gap up which will put the S&P above Friday’s high.
Today is the start of a 2-day FOMC meeting which will conclude tomorrow with a statement around 2:00 EST tomorrow. The Fed can induce movement in the near term but almost never changes the intermediate or long term trend. Two weeks ago sentiment shifted back to be positive, and since everyone knows QE will end and it’s possible rates inch up next summer, it’s not likely the Fed rocks the boat. It should be business as usual.
As stated yesterday, my biggest concern right now is oil. The transports benefit from lower costs, and you and I get to pay less at the pump, but because a decent chunk of the SPX is energy, it will get harder to move up with force with oil stocks lagging so much. It’s not impossible – just much harder. The bigger issue is the deflationary pressures…but that’s a discussion for another day. Bottom line is it would be much easier for the market and for the economy if oil could firm and move up. Yesterday it dipped below 80 and then closed at 81. Today it’s up to 81.45.
My bias remains to the upside. Even though a dip can come at any time, I have no reason to change right now. More after the open.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Aetna (AET +0.62%) reported Q3 EPS of $1.79, higher than consensus of $1.58.
Pfizer (PFE -0.27%) reported Q3 EPS of 57 cents, better than consensus of 55 cents.
Manitowoc (MTW -0.94%) slipped over 7% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 EPS of 36 cents, below consensus of 42 cents.
Crane (CR -0.10%) reported Q3 EPS ex-items of $1.12, weaker than consensus of $1.17, and then lowered guidance on fiscal 2014 EPS view to $4.40-$4.50 from $4.55-$4.75, below consensus of $4.62.
Masco (MAS -0.48%) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 31 cents, less than consensus of 32 cents.
Davidson Kempner Partners reported a 11.47% passive stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping (EGLE -1.49%) .
Kohl’s (KSS -0.91%) dropped nearly 5% in after-hours trading after it said it sees Q3 same-store sales down -1.4% and that fiscal 2014 EPS will be at the low end of $4.05-$4.45, weaker than consensus of $4.30.
HealthSouth (HLS +0.27%) reported Q3 EPS of 53 cents, better than consensus of 49 cents.
Reinsurance Group (RGA +0.81%) reported Q3 EPS of $2.28, stronger than consensus of $2.07.
Hartford Financial (HIG +0.37%) reported Q3 EPS of 86 cents, higher than consensus of 83 cents.
Symetra Financial (SYA +0.13%) reported Q3 EPS of 39 cents, weaker than consensus of 44 cents.
AvalonBay (AVB +0.81%) reported Q3 FFO of $2.14, higher than consensus of $2.00.
Allison Transmission (ALSN +0.10%) reported Q3 EPS of 38 cents, stronger than consensus of 30 cents.
Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD -1.17%) rose over 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 EPS of $1.14, better than consensus of $1.07.
Amgen (AMGN +0.64%) reported Q3 EPS of $2.30, well above consensus of $2.11, and then raised guidance on fiscal 2014 EPS view to $8.45-$8.55 from $8.20-$8.40, higher than consensus of $8.42.
General Growth Properties (GGP +0.97%) reported Q3 FFO of 33 cents, higher than consensus of 31 cents.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s economic calendar:
FOMC meeting begins
7:45 ICSC Retail Store Sales
8:30 Durable Goods
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
9:00 S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index
10:00 Richmond Fed Mfg.
10:00 Consumer Confidence
10:00 State Street Investor Confidence Index
1:00 PM Results of $29B, 2-Year Note Auction
Notable earnings before today’s open: ACI, AET, AGCO, AIXG, ALR, AME, AMTD, AN, AXE, BP, CAS, CIT, CMI, CNC, CNX, COH, CPLA, CRY, CVLT, CYNO, DD, DIN, ECL, ENTG, FCX, FDP, FLWS, FMER, GLPI, GLW, HCA, HMC, HOT, HRS, ICON, IIVI, IPGP, LH, MDSO, MLM, MMC, MSM, MSO, MWV, NBL, NCI, NVS, PCAR, PCG, PES, PFE, PH, POR, RDWR, SAIA, SAVE, SCHN, SCOR, SHW, SIRI, SNCR, ST, SYRG, TECH, TKR, TRW, TTS, TWI, UBS, UTHR, VDSI, VRTS, VSH, WAB, WHR, XYL
Notable earnings after today’s close: AEC, AFG, AFL, AJG, AMCC, AMP, APC, ARI, AZPN, BGFV, BLDP, BOOM, BXP, CAP, CBT, CEB, CHMT, CHRW, CINF, CRAY, DLR, DNB, DYAX, EA, EIX, EPR, EQR, ESRX, EXP, EXTR, FARO, FB, FEIC, FISV, GFIG, GILD, GPRE, HIW, HLIT, HTA, HTS, HURN, INAP, INVN, IPHI, KEYW, KIM, KONA, MAC, MAR, MCK, MRCY, MWA, NANO, NFX, OI, PEI, PLT, PNRA, PSMT, RJET, ROG, RPXC, SKT, SM, SWI, TQNT, TRN, TSS, UDR, ULTI, USNA, VRSK, VRTX, WDC, WES, WGP, WNC, WSH, WTS, WYNN, X, XCO, XOOM, ZLTQ
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers