Before the Open (Oct 4)

Good morning. Happy Tuesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets lean to the downside, but most markets are little moved from their unchanged levels. Japan closed up 2.7%, and South Korea dropped 0.9%. Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore dropped small amounts. Europe is currently mixed. Greece is up 2.2%, and Belgium is up 1%. Norway is down 1.05%, and Spain, Italy and Amsterdam are down 0.5-0.6%. Futures here in the States point towards a down open for the cash market.

The dollar is down. Oil is getting crushed (down 1.80); copper is down. Gold is up a small amount; silver is getting hit hard.
Yesterday was mostly a nondescript day for the market. It moved up and down and ended mixed and little moved from its unchanged level. Nothing very notable with the indexes considering the huge back-to-back up weeks we’ve had.
The only notable was oil, which dropped almost 2 bucks and closed at a new low. Lower oil means lower oil stocks, and considering how many oil stocks there are and how influential they are, it will be harder for the market to move up with oil tanking. Oh, and solar tends to do very poorly when oil drops. Why invest in solar when the main source of energy is falling? Today, as of an hour before the open, oil is down another 1.80 (and this is 1.20 off the low from 3-1/2 hours ago.
Intermediate term (next couple months) I like the market and think it goes higher and hits new highs.
Short term (next day or week) I just can’t chase stocks higher here. They’ve gone too far too fast and are in need of a rest. If I’m wrong, oh well. From a risk/reward standpoint, chasing breakouts right now doesn’t seem wise.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE +0.72%) reported Q3 EPS of $2.12, above consensus of $2.01.
Atlas Pipeline Partners (APL -1.31%) reported Q3 EPS of 13 cents, much better than consensus of a -1 cent loss.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM +0.66%) said the Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation of the company’s Forex trading.
RockTenn (RKT +0.70%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $1.31, higher than consensus of $1.05.
Lockheed Martin (LMT +0.09%) has been awarded a $271.82 milllion government contract modification to a previously awarded contract to provide the government of Taiwan with installation of 142 aircraft kits to upgrade their fleet of F-16 aircraft.
AmTrust (AFSI +4.08%) reported Q3 EPS non-GAAP of $1.79, well above consensus of $1.14.
Marathon Oil (MRO -2.34%) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 76 cents, stronger than consensus of 59 cents.
Lone Pine Capital reported a 5.3% passive stake in Autodesk (ADSK +0.40%) .
L Brands (LB +0.44%) jumped 3% in European trading after it raised guidance on fiscal 2014 EPS to 38 cents-40 cents from 26 cents-31 cents, higher than consensus of 32 cents.
Herbalife (HLF +6.56%) slumped over 12% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 adjusted EPS of $1.45, weaker than consensus of $1.51, and then lowered guidance on fiscal 2014 adjusted EPS to $5.80-$5.90, below consensus of $6.26.
Alleghany (Y +0.92%) reported Q3 EPS of $11.40, well above consensus of $7.60.
West Corp. (WSTC +0.09%) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 82 cents, stronger than consensus of 74 cents.
Community Health (CYH +0.84%) reported Q3 EPS of 54 cents, well below consensus of 76 cents.
Texas Roadhouse (TXRH +1.42%) reported Q3 EPS of 27 cents, less than consensus of 29 cents.
Kaman (KAMN -1.16%) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 60 cents, weaker than consensus of 67 cents.
AIG (AIG +0.43%) climbed over 1% in pre-market trading after it reported Q3 EPS of $1.21, higher than consensus of $1.09.
Frontier Communications (FTR -0.76%) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 5 cents, better than consensus of 4 cents.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s economic calendar:
7:45 ICSC Retail Store Sales
8:30 Gallup US ECI
8:30 International Trade
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
10:00 Factory Orders
Notable earnings before today’s open: AER, AFSI, AKS, ALLT, ARCC, ARCO, ARRY, ATRO, AYR, BABA, BDX, BKW, BLMN, CCG, CIE, CLDT, CONE, CVS, DISCA, DISH, DWRE, DX, EL, EMR, ENBL, EOG, ETR, EXH, EXLP, EXPD, FE, GDP, GLT, HCLP, HCN, HCP, HEP, HMSY, HPT, HSNI, HW, ICE, IFF, IMN, IP, IPXL, IRC, IRWD, KORS, LINC, LINE, LNCE, MFA, MSI, MWW, NCT, NGLS, NNN, NTI, NWN, ODP, OZM, PCLN, PPL, RBA, REGN, RESI, RGS, RHP, RIGL, RRGB, SC, SGNT, SRE, TESO, TGH, TICC, TIME, TLM, TRP, VLO, VMC, VSI, WLK, WNR, WRES, ZBRA, ZTS
Notable earnings after today’s close: ADEP, AMRS, ATVI, AWAY, AXLL, BIO, BIOL, BIRT, CALD, OTC:CBSO, CDXS, CERS, CHUY, CKEC, COHR, CORT, COUP, CRTO, CSU, DOX, DVN, ENPH, EXAM, EXEL, FANG, FEYE, FOXA, FRGI, GAS, GHDX, HR, ITRI, IVR, JAZZ, JIVE, JKHY, JMBA, KAR, MITT, MOSY, MPO, MYGN, NP, NRP, NSTG, NYMT, OAS, OCLR, OKE, OKS, PACD, PAYC, PBPB, PCYC, PEGA, PHH, PRI, PXD, PZZA, REGI, REXX, RLOC, RNR, RP, SBAC, SN, SPA, SQNM, TMH, TNET, TRIP, TTGT, TWO, TWOU, TX, UIL, WPX, XEC, XNPT, ZAGG, ZU
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers