Before the Open (Jan 16)

Good morning. Happy Friday. Happy Options Expiration Day.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly down. Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore dropped more than 1%. China continues to roll; it rallied 1.2%. Europe is currently mixed. The Swiss market is down another 4.3%, and Greece is down 2.8%. Russia is up 1.6%, and Italy is up 0.8%. Futures here in the States point towards a moderate gap down open for the cash market.
The dollar is up. Oil is up, copper down. Gold and silver are down.
I do not like this market…from the perspective of going long.
The indicators are not in good shape.
Utilities, gold, real estate and REITs are the best performing groups.
Banks have gotten hit hard the last week.
There are virtually no very good set-ups to play on the long side.
And just as important…the market doesn’t like uncertainty and instability, which is exactly what was introduced yesterday with the massive move in the Swiss franc. Switzerland is a small country, but it only takes a single unexpected and sudden event to get the ball rolling. I’ve already seen one report that a currency broker is insolvent because so many of its customers lost more money than they have in their accounts. Besides the obvious, other brokers may tighten up their margin requirements to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to them.
Wall St likes calmness, predictability and a complete lack of potential market-moving news. This isn’t the case right now. The world is not on edge, but it feels close and when you consider the computers at work, things can unravel quickly. I’m not predicting they will, but it’s now something we have to at least contemplate and plan for…just in case. More after the open.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Starwood (HOT -1.00%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Gap (GPS -2.37%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Overweight’ at Atlantic Equities.
CSX (CSX +1.37%) was upgraded to ‘Positive’ from ‘Neutral’ at Susquehanna.
PNC Financial Services Group (PNC -0.70%) reported Q4 EPS of $1.84, stronger than consensus of $1.73.
Family Dollar (FDO -1.52%) was downgraded to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ at Jefferies.
Comerica (CMA -1.09%) reported Q4 EPS of 82 cents, better than consensus of 77 cents.
SunTrust Banks (STI -1.77%) reported Q4 EPS of 88 cents, higher than consensus of 80 cents.
The WSJ reported that British Petroleum (BP +0.17%) may pay up to $13.7 billion in fines for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Gulf spill case.
Time Warner (TWX +0.04%) was downgraded to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ at Stifel.
Viacom (VIAB -1.95%) was initiated with a ‘Buy’ at Stifel with a price target of $89.
21st Century Fox (FOXA -0.77%) was initiated with a ‘Buy’ at Stifel with a price target of $41.
GrubHub (GRUB -1.98%) was initiated with a ‘Buy’ at Stifel with a price target of $46.
Target (TGT +1.80%) was upgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Underperform’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Schlumberger (SLB -2.25%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $1.50, higher than consensus of $1.46, although Q4 revenue of $12.6 billion was less than consensus of $12.72 billion. Schlumberger then said it plans to cut 9,000 jobs in 2015.
Roundy’s (RNDY -5.29%) lowered guidance on Q1 EPS to -5 cents to zero, weaker than consensus of 3 cents, and then cut guidance on full-year fiscal 2015 EPS to a loss of -18 cents to -7 cents, well below consensus of 6 cents.
Intel (INTC -0.44%) reported Q4 EPS of 74 cents, better than consensus of 66 cents, but then said Q1 revenue would be $13.7 billion, plus or minus $500 million, which is less than consensus of $13.77 billion.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s economic calendar:
8:30 Consumer Price Index
9:15 Industrial Production
9:55 Reuters/UofM Consumer Sentiment
4:00 PM Treasury International Capital
Notable earnings before today’s open: CMA, GS, PNC, PVTB, STI, WIT
Notable earnings after today’s close: none
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers