Before the Open (Jan 7)

Good morning. Happy Thursday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed with big, across-the-board losses. China dropped 7% and then was halted the rest of the day. Hong Kong fell more than 3%; Japan, Singapore, Australia and India dropped more than 2%; Indonesia, South Korea and Taiwan dropped more than 1%. Europe is currently suffering huge losses. Greece is down more than 5%; Austria more than 4%, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Finland more than 3%; London, France, Belgium, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain and Italy are down more than 2%. Futures in the States point towards a massive gap down open for the cash market.
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VIDEO: Leavitt Brothers Overview
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The dollar is down. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are up.
Today’s big story is again China. The Chinese market dropped 7% out of the gate today and then was halted the rest of the day. None of their efforts to stimulate their economy are working, and all the smoke and mirrors are being exposed.
S&P futures are down about 46…FORTY SIX. It’s reminiscient of the August plunge…which I don’t have to remind you got bought.
If you are new to the market, you want to be sitting on the sidelines. Gap ups and downs are normal. Swings are normal. News is normal. But 46-point opening gaps are not normal. You could make or lose a lot of money very fast…and if you’re relatively new at this game or if you’ve been around for a while but haven’t yet gotten very good, it’s best to sit out.
Technical levels don’t mean squat when news is so influential and markets are moving so much.
Oil is down $1.27 and now has a 32 handle.
Preserve capital first…then try to make some money. More after the open.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX -8.05%) and Alcoa (AA -7.12%) are both down more than 4% in pre-market trading as the price of copper dropped -3.04% to a 1-1/2 month low.
Capital One Financial (COF -1.31%) was downgraded to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ at Deutsche Bank.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA -1.53%) reported Q1 EPS of $1.03, better than consensus of 96 cents.
Agilent Technologies (A +0.44%) was upgraded to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Market Perform’ at Cowen with a price target of $46.
Macy’s (M -2.19%) climbed over 2% in after-hours trading after it initially sold-off 5% when it lowered guidance on Q4 EPS to $2.18-$2.23 from a previous estimate of $2.54-$2.64, and then said it will reduce costs by $400 million by closing 36 stores and cutting up to 4,800 jobs in early 2016.
NetApp (NTAP -2.80%) reported that CFO Nick Noviello is leaving the firm to pursue another opportunity and named VP of corporate finance, Jeffrey Bergmann, as interim CFO.
Paycom Software (PAYC +0.34%) was rated a new ‘Outperform’ at Robert Baird with a 12-month price target of $48.
Resource Connection (RECN -3.45%) fell over 3% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 EPS of 23 cents, below consensus of 24 cents.
Zumiez (ZUMZ -1.50%) jumped over 10% in after-hours trading after it raised guidance on Q4 EPS to 45 cents-47 cents from a previous estimate of 40 cents-46 cents, above consensus of 43 cents.
Mistras Group (MG -1.74%) surged over 12% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 EPS of 39 cents, well above consensus of 26 cents.
Globus Medical (GMED +1.92%) slipped over 2% in after-hours trading after it forecast 2016 sales of $583 million, below consensus of $590.4 million.
Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (CCO +5.56%) climbed over 2% in after-hours trading after Lamar Advertising said it was near an agreement to acquire billboard assets valued at about $450 million from CCO.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s Economic Calendar
Chain Store Sales
7:30 Challenger Job-Cut Report
8:30 Gallup Good Jobs
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
2:15 PM Fed’s Evans: U.S. Economy
4:30 Money Supply
4:30 Fed Balance Sheet
Today’s Earnings here
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers