Before the Open (Sep 9)

Good morning. Happy Friday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly down. Indonesia, South Korea and Taiwan dropped more than 1%; Australia, India, New Zealand and Singapore were also weak. Hong Kong did well. Europe is currently mostly down. Poland is down more than 1%; France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Russia, Turkey, Denmark and Portugal are also weak. Futures in the States point towards a moderate gap down open for the cash market.
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The dollar is flat. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are down. Bonds are down.
The ECB (European Central Bank) held interest rates at record lows but decided to not add any new stimulus. President Draghi said the ECB was considering different options, but investors were hoping for immediate action (extension or expansion of current plan) or a more clear path of future actions.
It’s pretty sad. Markets around the world are addicted to central banks intervening to stimulate the markets. The ECB didn’t take the punch bowl away, the simply refrained from spiking it further.
If the S&P closes right where it opens today, it’ll be the biggest loss in over a month. But it still won’t be a 1% loss, something that hasn’t happened in two months.
There are many stats that tell us the market’s current quiet period is rare and among the most lethargic in history. Perhaps the ECB news, or lack of news, will wake things up. I’d rather have some up and down swings than a flat market that goes nowhere.
Overall I still like the market for various reasons, which I’ll talk about this weekend in the weekly report, and I secretly hope for a pullback that will give us a chance to buy some quality names at a discount price. More after the open.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
JPMorgan Chase (JPM +0.13%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Outperform’ at Macquarie.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD -9.06%) lost almost 2% in pre-market trading after pricing a public offering of $600 million worth of common stock.
Harley-Davidson (HOG -0.63%) was rated a new ‘Outperform’ at Bernstein with a 12-month target price of $64.
Chesapeake Energy (CHK +13.66%) was upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ at Wunderlich Securities.
El Pollo Loco Holdings (LOCO -1.74%) climbed 6% in after-hours trading after it was announced that it will replace American Science & Engineering in the SmallCap 600 Index after the close of trading Monday, September 12.
Finisar (FNSR -1.78%) jumped over 12% in after-hours trading after it reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 38 cents, higher than consensus of 30 cents, and then said it sees Q2 adjusted EPS of 44 cents-50 cents, above consensus of 32 cents.
Oclaro (OCLR -1.30%) rose nearly 5% in after-hours trading after Finisar’s Q2 EPS view was well above expectations.
Restoration Hardware Holdings (RH +1.18%) gained 13% in pre-market trading after it reported Q2 adjusted EPS of 44 cents, well above consensus of 29 cents.
Zumiez (ZUMZ unch) rallied 5% in after-hours trading after it reported a Q2 loss of -3 cents a share, better than consensus for an -8 cent loss, and said it sees Q3 sales of $209 million-$213 million, above consensus of $206.6 million.
Swift Transportation (SWFT +0.61%) jumped over 6% in after-hours trading after CEO Jerry Moyes said he will retire effective Dec 31 and current COO and President Richard Stocking will replace him as CEO.
Williams Cos. (WMB +2.67%) slid 3% in after-hours trading after Enterprise Products said it is withdrawing interest in a takeover of Williams. Enterprise Products (EPD +0.52%) rose nearly 2% in after-hours trading after the statement.
MGM Holdings (MGMB +2.94%) rose nearly 3% in after-hours trading after it said it still sees adjusted Ebitda margin of 30% this year, above the 25% from 2015.
Vince Holding (VNCE -3.28%) dropped over 7% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 revenue of $60.7 million, below consensus of $64.1 million.
Xactly (XTLY +0.95%) fell over 3% in after-hours trading after it said it sees Q3 revenue of $23.3 million-$24.1 billion, at the low end of expectations of $24.0 million.
Lantheus Holdings (LNTH -0.94%) tumbled over 11% in after-hours trading after it announced a public offering of 5.2 million shares of common stock.
Thursday’s Key Earnings
Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) -4.1% on disappointing guidance.
Today’s Economic Calendar
7:45 Fed’s Rosengren: Economic Outlook
9:30 Fed’s Kaplan speech
1:00 PM Baker-Hughes Rig Count
8:15 PM Fed’s Kaplan speech
Today’s Earnings here
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers