Before the Open (Nov 17)

Good morning. Happy Monday. Hope you had a nice weekend.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed with a lean to the downside. Japan dropped nearly 3%, followed by Hong Kong (down 1.2%), Taiwan (down 1.1%), Singapore (down 0.8%) and Australia (down 0.7%). India and New Zealand closed up. Europe is currently mixed; gains and losses are on the smaller side. Italy, Spain and Russia lead to the upside. Greece and Belgium are down the most. Futures here in the States point towards a moderate gap down open for the cash market.

The dollar is up. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are down.
I posted a video over the weekend discussing a few charts that concern me. Check it out here.
Despite sitting at a 7-year high, Japan has slipped back into a recession, per Q3 GDP numbers.
It’s also believed the eurozone is close to tipping into a recession. Says David Cameron: “The eurozone is teetering on the brink of a possible third recession, with high unemployment, falling growth and the real risk of falling prices too. Emerging markets, which were the driver of growth in the early stages of the recovery, are now slowing down. Despite the progress in Bali, global trade talks have stalled while the epidemic of Ebola, conflict in the Middle East and Russia’s illegal actions in Ukraine are all adding a dangerous backdrop of instability and uncertainty.”
I don’t have anything to add to the report and video posted over the weekend. Overall I like the market and believe it’ll move higher, but in the near term evidence is mounting that a mini correction is not far off. The risk/reward for entering new trades is not great, so if you do get long here, recognize the environment you’re dealing with. If you can’t help yourself, it may be best to take a partial position and then add on a pullback. And if we don’t get a pullback, at least you have some exposure. More after the open.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Tyson Foods (TSN -1.26%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 87 cents, better than consensus of 76 cents, although Q4 revenue of $10.11 billion was below consensus of $10.16 billion.
Baker Hughes (BHI +1.94%) jumped 18% in pre-market trading after it agreed to be acquired by Halliburton ({=HAL for $78.62 per share.
Procter & Gamble (PG -0.55%) was downgraded to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ at Canaccord.
Bloomberg reports that Actavis (ACT +0.89%) is nearing a deal to acquire Allergan (AGN +1.24%) for $64 billion.
Marriott (MAR -0.17%) and Starwood (HOT -0.20%) were both downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at UBS.
Phillips 66 (PSX +1.34%) was upgraded to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Neutral’ at Credit Suisse.
Nokia (NOK -4.84%) was downgraded to ‘Underperform’ from ‘Market Perform’ at Raymond James.
JD.com (JD -1.13%) reported a Q3 EPS loss of -2 cents, twice as much as consensus of a -1 cent loss.
Austin Ventures reported 14.9% stake in Upland Software (UPLD -0.09%).
CJA Private Equity reported a 9.95% stake in Broadway Financial (BYFC +2.67%).
Springowl Associates reported a 5.1% stake in Forestar Group (FOR -1.21%).
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s economic calendar:
8:30 Empire State Mfg Survey
9:15 Industrial Production
Notable earnings before today’s open: CMGE, EGRX, HGR, JD, TSN
Notable earnings after today’s close: A, JEC, SD, URBN
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers