Before the Open (Dec 10)

Good morning. Happy Thursday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed with a lean to the downside. Japan dropped 1.3%; Australia and Malaysia were also weak. India did well. Europe currently leans to the downside. Greece is up more than 2%, and Poland is up more than 1%. Turkey is down more than 1%, and the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Spain and the Czech Republic are down. Futures in the States point towards a moderate gap up open for the cash market.
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VIDEO: My Forecast for 2016 …
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The dollar is up. Oil and copper are up. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
Over the weekend I stated I wasn’t impressed with the market…even though it had rallied hard the previous Friday and closed in the upper-third of its weekly range.
Yesterday, before the open, I stated I was liking the market less and less.
So far nothing has happened this week or specifically yesterday to change my view. I’m not crazy about the market. Yeah I know December is the best month of the year, and when it starts with a day that gains > 1%, it’s even better (as it did this year). And I know years ending in 5 (2015, 2005, etc) have closed up forever. I’m still not that crazy about what I see.
I’m not negative. I’m not pessimistic. I just see enough signs of weakness that I’m not exactly super thrilled about going long and giving positions time and space to play out. Everything to the long side right now is short term. Get in, get out. Take the money and run.
Don’t underestimate the market’s ability to suddenly post a huge up day. It happens. In fact it happens more often when the market is weak. But as of now, unless things change, I don’t see a rally having legs. Things would need to improve internally for a rally to hold. More after the open.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Perrigo (PRGO -0.15%) was upgraded to a ‘Buy’ at Argus Research with a price target of $170.
First Solar (FSLR -0.37%) was dowmgraded to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ at Needham & Co.
Chevron (CVX +1.34%) said it will cut its 2016 spending plans by 24% to $26.6 billion due to the slump in energy markets.
FMC Technologies (FTI +2.34%) fell over 1% in pre-market trading after Technip SA said it is not in merger talks with the company. FMC Technologies had climbed almost 4% in after-hours trading after people familiar with the matter said Technip SA is in talks to merge with FMC Technologies.
Boston Scientific (BSX -1.33%) said it was voluntarily recalling its Charlot Guiding Sheaths that are used for peripheral vascular procedures due to risk of shaft separation.
NeuStar (NSR -1.98%) rallied over 6% in after-hours trading after it raised guidance on fiscal 2016 adjusted EPS to $4.79-$5.15, well above consensus of $4.06.
Athenahealth (ATHN -0.48%) fell over 3% in after-hours trading after it lowered guidance on fiscal 2016 revenue to $1.09 billion-$1.12 billion, below consensus of $1.13 billion.
Express (EXPR +0.23%) rose over 6% in after-hours trading after it announced a new $100 million share repurchase program.
Men’s Warehouse (MW -5.74%) slumped over 15% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 50 cents, right on consensus, but warned that it may miss the lower end of its yearly forecast if the trend of lower sales at its Jos. A Bank stores continues. Jos A. Bank comparable sales were down -35.1% in Q4 through the first week of December y/y.
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (OLLI +0.12%) rallied over 8% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 11 cents, better than consensus of 8 cents, and then raised guidance on 2015 fiscal adjusted EPS to 66 cents, from a previous estimate of 62 cents-63 cents.
American Semiconductor (AMSC -2.78%) jumped over 10% in after-hours trading after it raised guidance on Q3 revenue to $22 million-$24 million, above a prior estimate of $19 million-$22 million.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 Import/Export Prices
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:00 Quarterly Services Report
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
1:00 PM Results of $16B, 30-Year Note Auction
2:00 PM Treasury Budget
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
Today’s Earnings here
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers