Before the Open (Jan 27)

Good morning. Happy Tuesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. Japan led the way with a 1.7% gain; Australia, India, New Zealand and South Korea also did well. China dropped 0.9%. Europe is currently mostly down. Greece is down 4.5%, followed by Germany, France, Spain and Austria, which are down more than 1%. Amsterdam, Italy, Norway and Stockholm are also weak. Russia is up 1.4%. Futures here in the States point towards a big gap down for the cash market.

The dollar is down. Oil is flat, copper down. Gold is up, silver is down.
Yesterday the market was weak early but then rallied and closed up and at its highs. Today the market will open near yesterday’s low.
Nothing has changed the last month. Lots of ups and downs…lots of gaps…lots of sudden reversals…lots of false hopes. Rallies get sold, dips get bought…nothing sticks for long. Have an opinion? Wait, you’ll be right. And then wait a little longer and you’ll be wrong.
Until the market breaks out of this funk – and it’s not necessarily a bad funk, we’ve gotten some good trades off – it would not be wise to swing for the fences. This is not a time to take big chances. Simple as that. Don’t churn your account. Trade, but keep expectations low, and err on the side of taking profits too soon…otherwise they’ll be wiped out.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Procter & Gamble (PG -0.56%) reported Q2 core EPS of $1.06, below consensus of $1.13.
Pfizer (PFE +1.08%) fell nerly 3% in pre-market trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 54 cents, better than consensus of 53 cents, but then lowered guidance on fiscal 2015 adjusted EPS to $2.00-$2.10, less than consensus of $2.18.
Bristol-Myers (BMY +0.63%) reported Q4 EPS of 46 cents, better than consensus of 41 cents.
Dunkin’ Brands (DNKN +0.04%) authorized a new $700 million share repurchase program, but then lowered guidance on fiscal 2015 adjusted EPS to $1.83-$1.87 from $1.88-$1.91, below consensus of $1.92.
TechCrunch reported that International Business Machines (IBM +0.31%) will lay off 12,000 employees.
Brown & Brown (BRO +0.25%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 36 cents, over double consensus of 15 cents.
Crane (CR +1.83%) reported Q4 EPS ex-items of $1.13, right on consensus, but then lowered guidance on fiscal 2015 EPS ex-items to $4.45-$4.65, below consensus of $4.79.
Packaging Corp. (PKG +1.87%) slipped nearly 6% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of $1.16, less than consensus of $1.17.
ESW Capital reported a 19% passive stake in Upland Software (UPLD -0.51%) .
Texas Instruments (TXN -0.02%) reported Q4 EPS of 76 cents, above consensus of 69 cents.
Oaktree Capital reported a 5.9% passive stake in Century Communities (CCS +2.35%) .
Marathon Oil (MRO +2.83%) and Colbalt (CIE +3.86%) were both downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at UBS.
Plum Creek Timber ({=PCL lowered guidance on Q1 EPS to 20 cents-25 cents, weaker than consensus of 27 cents.
Sanmina (SANM +1.39%) reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 61 cents, better than consensus of 58 cents.
Microsoft (MSFT -0.36%) fell over 4% in pre-market trading after it reported Q2 EPS of 71 cents, right on consensus, but said that commercial-licesnse revenuing fell.
United Technologies (UTX -1.03%) reported Q4 EPS of $1.62, right on consensus, but then lowered guidance on fiscal 2015 EPS to $6.85-$7.05 from $7.00-$7.20, below consensus of $7.19.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s economic calendar:
FOMC meeting begins
8:30 Durable Goods
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
9:00 S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index
9:45 PMI Services Index Flash
10:00 New Home Sales
10:00 Consumer Confidence
10:00 Richmond Fed Mfg.
10:00 State Street Investor Confidence Index
Notable earnings before today’s open: AAL, ABMD, AKS, AMG, AOS, AUDC, AVX, BMY, BTU, CAT, CIT, COH, DD, DHR, DOV, ERIC, FCFS, FCX, FMER, GLW, IIVI, ISSI, ITW, LMT, LXK, MMM, NEE, NUE, NVS, OSK, PFE, PG, PH, PHG, PII, PLD, SNV, TDG, WAT
Notable earnings after today’s close: AAPL, ACE, AMCC, AMGN, ARAY, BXP, CLMS, CNI, CNMD, CYT, DOX, EA, ETH, EZPW, FSL, FTK, ILMN, JNPR, MRCY, OTEX, POL, SYK, T, TSS, VMW, WDC, X, YHOO
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers