Before the Open (Feb 19)

Posted on by Jason Leavitt

Good morning. Happy Thursday.
Several Asian/Pacific markets were closed today. Japan and India moved up; Australia and New Zealand moved down. Europe is currently mixed. France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and Greece are doing well. Russia (down 2.4%) and Norway (down 1%) are lagging. Futures here in the States point towards a down open for the cash market.

The dollar is up. Oil is down, copper is down. Gold and silver are up.
Yesterday I stated oil was one of the biggest current stories. Crude and the operating companies had moved off lows and were in consolidation mode. Many stocks were set up nicely, and with a little nudge could have broken out and legged up again. Since there are so many highly liquid oil stocks – big and small – there could have been many opportunities from the group. But as of now, odds of across-the-board breakouts are declining. Oil dropped yesterday and is down again today. Between Tuesday’s close and today’s open, oil will be down about 8%, and while those consolidation patterns still exist, they look much less attractive.
A reason for the drop? Last week’s addition to US inventories rose by the most since 1982, and expectations are now that inventories will hit a record high. Yes the rig count is down, but drilled wells will keep pumping. And many companies must keep pumping because they have debts to service. It sucks for them, but since most drilling costs are up front, getting $50/barrel is better than shutting down because the debt still needs to be paid.
The overall market –> most of the indexes are at or very close to all-time highs (except for the Nas, which is at a new high but not an all-time high). Things are looking better. We may be in the beginning stages of a leg up…one where we can buy dips and hold a little longer for bigger moves. More after the open.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Halliburton (HAL -1.07%) is down 2% and Exxon Mobil (XOM -2.19%) slid over 1% in pre-market trading as crude oil prices fell.
Hormel Foods (HRL +0.77%) reported Q1 EPS of 69 cents, well above consensus of 64 cents.
Priceline.com (PCLN +0.18%) reported Q4 EPS of $10.85, higher than consensus of $10.05.
Southwest Airlines (LUV +2.25%) was initiated with a ‘Buy’ at BofA/Merril Lynch with a price target of $52.
Regeneron (REGN +0.40%) reported positive results for its Eylea injection in patients with diabetic macular edema.
EOG Resources (EOG -1.22%) reported Q4 EPS of 79 cents, well below consensus of $1.02.
Marathon Oil (MRO -2.06%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 0, less than consensus of 3 cents.
Sunoco Logistics (SXL +1.63%) reported a Q4 EPS loss of -80 cents, well below consensus of a 37 cent profit.
Avis Budget (CAR -0.57%) reported Q4 EPS ex-items of 23 cents, above consensus of 20 cents.
Marriott (MAR +0.20%) reported Q4 EPS of 68 cents, higher than consensus of 65 cents.
Convergys (CVG +0.05%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 52 cents, better than consensus of 44 cents.
Synopsys (SNPS +0.94%) reported Q1 EPS of 80 cents, well above consensus of 62 cents.
Fidelity National (FNF -1.25%) reported Q4 EPS of 50 cents, higher than consensus of 47 cents.
Williams (WMB -1.95%) reported Q4 EPS of 26 cents, better than consensus of 23 cents.
ARRIS (ARRS +5.10%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 78 cents, well above consensus of 61 cents.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s economic calendar:
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:00 Philly Fed Business Outlook
10:00 Leading Indicators
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
11:00 EIA Petroleum Inventories
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
Notable earnings before today’s open: ACTA, AGI, ANIP, ARIA, ATRO, AYR, BBW, BCC, BLMN, BRC, CBB, CCC, CLI, CVI, CVRR, DAN, DAVE, DISCA, DNR, DTV, DWRE, FCN, FUN, GEL, GG, HII, HRL, HST, IDA, IDCC, IMAX, IRC, LINE, LPLA, LXP, MTRN, NBL, NM, PCLN, PDCE, PDCO, PWR, RS, SCG, SGNT, SYNT, TK, TTC, UAN, UPL, VNDA, WMT, WST
Notable earnings after today’s close: ACTG, AHS, ANET, AUQ, BAS, BEAT, BLDR, BRCD, BRKR, CYH, ED, EGO, EQIX, EXR, FNGN, FPO, FR, FRGI, FTR, FUEL, GEN, HY, INAP, INTU, IPCM, JWN, MHK, MRC, MRVL, NDLS, NEM, PSA, ROVI, SAAS, SEM, SPN, SPNC, SSRI, TEP, TRMR, TSRO, WIRE, WRE, XNPT, TRUE
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers

0 thoughts on “Before the Open (Feb 19)”

  2. i am sick and tired of watching and waiting for more volitility to return
    i hope greece sticks it to the imf ,ecb,germany and says no more debt ,take a haircut
    the greeks see non of the bailout money that only goes to prop up the big banks so as they can do more gambling with tax payer money and the greeks are expexcted to pay back the banks losses
    thats QE for you
    russia and usa want full blown war to hide economic and bank weakness and political corruption
    oil to zero its worthless

  3. i remember some 8 to 10 years ago when their was supost to be a zero oil theory
    and that their was no more oil to find and that the world would run out of oil in so many years
    what a load of big boy insto properganda
    now their is a glut and opec countries and russia and usa etc have to keep producing even a $5 per barrel to pay the corrupt politicans countries debt

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