Before the Open (Dec 22)

Good morning. Happy Tuesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea did the best, but no market gained more than 1%. India dropped. Europe is currently mixed, but there are very few big movers. Turkey, Greece, Denmark and Hungary are down; London, the Netherlands and Spain are up. Futures in the States point towards a positive open for the cash market.
The dollar is down. Oil is up, copper is down. Gold and silver are flat. Bonds are down.
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VIDEO: Leavitt Brothers Overview
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We’re in the stretch run. Only 7 more days of trading this year. If the market is going to post a gain for the year, as it always does in years ending in a 5, it’ll need to rally 1.83%. And if December is to post a gain this year, as it normally does because it’s the strongest month of year, the S&P will have to move up 2.85%. Both feats are doable, but there isn’t much time.
But regardless of what happens the next two weeks, I don’t like what I see heading into 2016.
The internals are weak…the small caps are lagging…oil’s continued weakness could domino through the economy…the junk bond weakness is bothersome. There are lots of signs the market is no longer healthy.
A run to a new high is a definite possibility. Some follow through after that is also possible. But without significant improvement from the internals, stiff selling will follow.
Keep the big picture in mind when determining how positions will be managed. This isn’t a time where you can give positions lots of time and space to play out. Instead, take the money and run when you get the chance. More after the open.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Express Scripts Holdings (ESRX +1.78%) rose over 1% in pre-market trading after it gave guidance on fiscal 2016 adjusted EPS of $6.08-$6.28, above consensus of $6.05.
American Express (AXP +0.78%) was rated new ‘Market Perform’ at JMP Securities.
Chipolte Mexican Grill (CMG -3.52%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Overweight’ at JPMorgan Chase.
Whiting Petroleum (WLL -8.58%) was downgraded to ‘Market Perform’ from ‘Outperform’ at BMO.
Alaska Air Group (ALK +3.19%) was downgraded to ‘Hod’ from ‘Buy’ at Stifel.
Box Inc. (BOX +0.36%) was rated new ‘Market Outperform’ at JMP Securities with a 12-month price target of $18.
NetApp (NTAP unch) said it will acquire SolidFire for $870 million.
Pfizer (PFE +1.47%) reported that a Phase 3 study of its Pristiq drug did demonstrate superior efficacy versus a placebo in pediatric patients ages 7 to 17 with Major Depressive Disorder.
Cintas (CTAS +0.80%) rallied over 1% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 continuing operations EPS of $1.03, better than consensus of $1.00.
Steelcase (SCS +3.00%) slumped over 15% in after-hours trading after reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 30 cents, below consensus of 33 cents, and then lowered guidance on Q4 adjusted EPS to 20 cents-24 cents, weaker than consensus of 26 cents.
Stone Energy (SGY -14.36%) slid nearly 2% in after-hours trading after it lowered its Q4 production forecast to 23-24 Mboepd (thousand barrels of oil equivalents per day) from 25-26 Mboepd.
Alexza Pharmaceuticals (ALXA -2.22%) soared over 30% in after-hours trading after it said it was “encouraged” by data in a Phase 2a study of it AZ-002 drug being developed for the management of epilepsy in patients with acute repetitive seizures.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s Economic Calendar
8:30 GDP Q3
8:30 Corporate Profits
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
9:00 FHFA House Price Index
10:00 Richmond Fed Mfg
10:00 Existing Home Sales
Today’s Earnings here
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers