Before the Open (Jan 26)

Good morning. Happy Tuesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly down. China dropped 6.4%; Japan and Hong Kong fell more than 2%; Singapore and South Korea lost more than 1%. Europe is currently mostly down, but losses are minimal. London, Germany, Poland, Austria and Belgium are down; Italy, Portugal and Greece are up. Futures here in the States point towards a flat open for the cash market.
—————
Join Leavitt Brothers – Top Notch Analysis and Trading Ideas
—————
The dollar is flat. Oil is down, copper is up. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are up.
Yesterday the bears threw a big bucket of cold water on the bounce attempt. Almost all of the previous day’s gains were wiped out. Nobody said it would be easy. For the market to really bounce, there needs to be enough investors who don’t just think a bounce is in order, but actually believe a bottom is in place and at least a move to the highs is coming. Otherwise a bounce won’t go far. Put yourself in the shoes of a billion-dollar fund. You wouldn’t bother with the little wiggles. You’re looking for bigger moves over bigger time frames, so unless you believe a move has legs, you’re probably storing money in safe-havens (AT&T) and sitting tight. If many big funds sit tight, a directional bounce will be much harder to attain.
The Fed meets today and tomorrow. Nobody expects them to raise rates further, but with the recent market losses and growing risk of a hard landing in China, more on Wall St. want QE4 – you know, because the economy and market have been conditioned that the market is only supposed to go up, and any hint of weakness should be met by the government immediately stepping in to save the day. I’d expect the Fed to be very dovish tomorrow. Absent recognition of their role, the market is likely to get hit hard.
I’m still thinking there’s more upside to go before the next big leg down starts, but this isn’t easy. More after the open.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Lockheed Martin (LMT -0.49%) reported Q4 EPS of $3.76, well above consensus of $2.94.
Procter & Gamble (PG -0.66%) reported Q2 EPS of $1.04, higher than consensus of 98 cents.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ -0.36%) reported Q4 EPS of $1.44, better than consensus of $1.42.
PG&E Corp. (PCG -1.43%) was upgraded to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Equalweight’ at Morgan Stanley.
Crane Co. (CR -2.75%) dropped over 4% in after-hours trading after it lowered guidance on fiscal 2016 EPS to $3.85-$4.15, below consensus of $4.27.
Graco (GGG -2.02%) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 93 cents, well above estimates of 78 cents.
Rambus (RMBS -1.75%) rallied over 7% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 18 cents, better than consensus of 15 cents.
Centene (CNC -2.71%) slid almost 2% in after-hours trading after it said six hard drives with health information on 950,000 were unaccounted for.
Swift Transportation (SWFT -1.51%) climbed nearly 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 53 cents, higher than consensus of 47 cents.
SunEdison (SUNE +2.64%) gained over 2% in after-hours trading after SunEdison stakeholder Greenlight Capital reported that it raised its stake in 13D to 6.8% from 5.9% reported September 30.
Relypsa (RLYP +0.05%) jumped over 8% in after-hours trading after it said studies showed no meaningful reduction in absorption for 9 of 12 drugs that had previously demonstrated binding in vitro tests when its Veltassa drug was administered at the same time.
Aratana Therapeutics (PETX +1.59%) surged nearly 10% in after-hours trading after it filed New Animal Drug Application for its Galliprant drug for control of pain and inflammation in dogs with osteoarthritis.
Sanmina Corp. (SANM +0.70%) climbed over 4% in after-hours trading after it raised guidance on Q2 adjusted EPS to 55 cents-59 cents, above consensus of 54 cents.
Earnings and Economic Numbers from seekingalpha.com…
Today’s Economic Calendar
FOMC meeting begins
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
9:00 FHFA House Price Index
9:00 S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index
9:45 PMI Services Index Flash
10:00 Richmond Fed Mfg.
10:00 Consumer Confidence
10:00 State Street Investor Confidence Index
1:00 PM Results of $26B, 2-Year Note Auction
Today’s Earnings here
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers