Before the Open (Dec 5)

Good morning. Happy Friday. Happy Employment Numbers Day.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mixed. China added another 1.32% to yesterday’s big move, and Hong Kong moved up 0.71%. Australia dropped 0.59%, and India fell 0.37%. Europe is doing great. Italy and Greece are up more than 2%, and Spain, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Belgium, Germany and France are up more than 1%. Russia is down 1.85%. Futures here in the States point towards a flat-to-up open for the cash market.

The dollar is up. Oil is down, copper is up. Gold and silver are up.
It’s been a decent week so far. The market was weak on Monday and then has done well since. The S&P is up 4.36 points, and as long as the index doesn’t give those points back today, a seventh consecutive up week will be registered. The Dow has the same winning streak on the line. The Nas 100 has a 6-week winning streak, but is down 26 (0.60%) heading into today. The Russell’s weekly close the last six weeks has been virtually identical. The warnings come from the lagging small caps and the extent of the rally – this is the longest winning streak for the SPX since Oct/Nov 2013.
Here are the employment numbers…
unemployment rate: 5.8% (was 5.8% last month)
nonfarm payrolls: +321K (biggest gain since 2012)
private payrolls:
average workweek: unchanged at 34.6 hours
hourly wages: up 9 cents to $24.66
labor participation rate:
October raised from 214K to 243K.
September raised from 256K to 271K.
The market’s initial reaction was up…then S&P futures dropped 8.5 points…now they are recovering and suggesting an up open for the cash market.
I continue to like the market, but the extent and consistency of the rally keeps the management of trades in a conservative camp. I am not giving positions much room to move against me. Instead I’m being content with 5-10% gains rather shooting for much bigger moves.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Tyson Foods (TSN -1.93%) was upgraded to ‘Conviction Buy’ from ‘Buy’ at Goldman Sachs.
AMC Entertainment (AMC +1.02%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at B. Riley.
IntercontinentalExchange (ICE +0.32%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at Citigroup.
Thor Industries (THO -5.68%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at SunTrust.
Big Lots (BIG -1.22%) reported a Q3 EPS loss of -6 cents, a bigger loss than consensus of -5 cents.
Vodafone (VOD -1.04%) was upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.
Cormorant Global Healthcare reported a 8.94% passive stake in Quotient (QTNT -0.17%).
Fiat Chrysler (FCAU -2.51%) slid over 3% in after-hours trading after it filed to sell $2.5 billion of mandatory convertible securities due 2016.
Gabelli reported a 12.37% stake in Cincinnati Bell (CBB -0.88%).
Synaptics (SYNA -1.15%) soared over 7% in after-hours trading after it raised guidance on Q2 revenue view to $440 million-$460 million from $415 million-$450 million, above consensus of $433.12 million.
Northrop Grumman (NOC -0.80%) announced a new $3 billion share repurchase authorization, and then the company was upgraded to ‘Conviction Buy’ from ‘Buy’ at Goldman Sachs.
Ulta Salon (ULTA +0.85%) climbed over 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 EPS of 91 cents, higher than consensus of 84 cents.
Cooper Companies (COO -0.45%) dropped over 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 EPS of $1.95, less than consensus of $2.03, and then lowered guidance on fiscal 2015 EPS view to $7.30-$7.70 from $8.20-$8.60, well below consensus of $8.24.
American Eagle (AEO -3.83%) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 22 cents, right on consensus, although Q3 revenue of $854 million was above consensus of $845.95 million.
The Gap (GPS -0.10%) jumped over 2% in after-hours trading after it reported November same-store-sales of $1.72 billion, up 6% y/y.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s economic calendar:
8:30 Non-farm payrolls
8:30 International Trade
10:00 Factory Orders
3:00 PM Consumer Credit
Notable earnings before today’s open: BIG, BNS, GCO
Notable earnings after today’s close: none
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers