Before the Open (Feb 9)

Good morning. Happy Monday. Hope you had a nice weekend.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed with a lean to the downside. India (down 1.7%), Hong Kong (down 0.6%), New Zealand (down 0.5%) and South Korea (down 0.4%) posted the biggest losses. China (up 0.6%) and Japan (up 0.4%) did ok. Europe is currently mixed. Spain (down 2.3%), Italy (down 2.1%), Greece (down 2%) and Stockholm (down 0.7%) are leading to the downside while Russia (up 3.6%), Austria (up 1%), Prague (up 0.8%) and Norway and Switzerland (up 0.5%) are performing the best. Futures here in the States point towards a moderate gap down open for the cash market.

The dollar is up. Oil is up, copper is down. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are up.
The market rallied last week – the third time this year the market has moved up to the top of its range. The question is whether it can continue up and break out of its funk or continue with its up and down movement that has characterized it the last five weeks.
Several indicators have improved. The AD line and AD volume line have been moving up. There’s no sign of weakness from the new highs or new lows charts. The SPX bullish percent chart suddenly jumped up. The put/call and 10-year Treasury Note vs. SPX charts are breaking down and now supporting additional upside. The percentage of stocks above their 20-day MA and at a 20-day high are moving up and have time and space to continue.
If the bulls wanted to push the market up, the stage is set. But until it actually happens, until the indexes take out their highs, we have to remember the market has been range bound for three months and no move has lasted more than a handful of days. Rallies have gotten sold, and dips have gotten bought. The bulls are in control one week; the bears taken control the next week. Those who can chip away with moderate ambitions (making 5-10% at a time) have done well. Those who try to hold positions with trailing stops have been frustrated.
Until something changes, the song remains the same. Don’t dig in and defend a position or opinion. Be flexible until a trend established itself. More after the open.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Alcoa (AA -2.93%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Overweight’ at JPMorgan Chase.
Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD +7.12%) was downgraded to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ at Miller Tabak.
Pfizer (PFE +0.55%) was upgraded to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Market Perform’ at BMO Capital.
B. Riley downgraded Skechers (SKX -0.81%) to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy.’
Prudential (PRU +3.29%) was downgraded to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ at Deutsche Bank.
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF -0.15%) was downgraded to ‘Sell’ from ‘Hold’ at Wunderlich.
TECO Energy (TE -3.26%) reported Q4 EPS of 19 cents, less than consensus of 21 cents.
Loews (L +0.02%) reported Q4 EPS of 59 cents, better than consensus of 53 cents.
Masco (MAS +1.80%) reported Q4 EPS pf 24 cents, more than consensus of 20 cents.
Hasbro (HAS -0.69%) reported Q4 EPS of $1.22, highe than consensus of $1.20.
Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO -0.68%) reported Q4 EPS of 73 cents, better than consensus of 66 cents.
Barron’s reports that Hillenbrand (HI +2.81%) , which generates lots of free cash and is modestly valued, could see its shares rise 20% over the next year.
Dominion (D -3.79%) reported Q4 EPS of 84 cents, better than consensus of 83 cents.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s economic calendar:
12:30 PM TD Ameritrade IMX
Notable earnings before today’s open: BWP, CNA, CYOU, DO, ENSG, EXXI, GOLD, HAS, L, LGND, MAS, MCY, MPAA, NAT, OAK, SOHU, TE, WEX
Notable earnings after today’s close: ALSN, AMAG, AMKR, CCK, CMP, COUP, CRK, CSC, DAC, DNB, GIG, GSM, ICUI, IPHI, KS, MCC, MERU, MODN, MOH, MRH, MXL, NBIX, NEWP, NTES, OTTR, PRI, QLYS, RLD, SSNI, TDW, WCN
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers