Before the Open (Sep 13)

Good morning. Happy Tuesday.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed with a lean to the downside. Singapore and Indonesia dropped more than 1%; Malaysia and New Zealand were also weak. Europe currently leans to the upside. Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Denmark are doing well; Russia, Turkey, Spain and Portugal are weak. Futures in the States point towards a moderate gap down open for the cash market.
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The dollar is up. Oil is down; copper is up. Gold and silver are up. Bonds are up.
After not experiencing a 1% day in two months, the S&P put in back-to-back 1% days Friday and Monday. Today likely continues the trend, so I guess it’s a lesson in being careful what you wish for. S&P futures are already down 14. A character shift has taken place.
There are no guarantees here. Steady, predictable movement allows us to close our eyes and buy at certainly levels knowing the odds are in our favor. But when the S&P drops 50 one day and then rallies back 30 the next, there are no such no-brainer entries.
From a technical standpoint the market is still in good shape, so I don’t think it’ll just fall apart. But in my eyes, even with a rate hike probably being off the table, with Hillary Clinton’s health issues getting more scrutiny, the upside is also limited. The election is no longer a done deal.
In two days, the market has gone from zero volatility to surging volatility. Fun stuff. And people actually believe in the efficient market theory. Yeah right. A multi-trillion dollar economy can change that fast. Whatever. More after the open.
Stock headlines from barchart.com…
Netflix (NFLX +2.64%) was downgraded to ‘Underperfrom’ from ‘Neutral’ at Macquarie due to “hidden challenges.”
Intersil (ISIL +2.07%) jumped over 7% in pre-market trading after it was bought by Renesas Electronics for about $3.2 billion.
Intuit (INTU +0.27%) was downgraded to ‘Underweight’ from ‘Equalweight’ at Morgan Stanley.
Chevron (CVX +0.97%) was rated a new ‘Outperform’ at BMO Capital Markets with a target price of $120.
Texas Instruments (TXN +1.90%) was upgraded to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Market Perform’ at Bernstein.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX +4.46%) was rated a new ‘Market Perform’ at Raymond James.
United Natural Foods (UNFI +0.50%) rose over 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 70 cents, higher than consensus of 63 cents.
Crown Castle International (CCI +0.66%) was rated a new ‘Buy’ at SunTrust with a price target of $107.
Foamix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (FOMX +15.70%) lost over 1% in after-hours trading after it registered 331,000 ordinary shares for resale after conversion of options granted to shareholders.
Applied Genetic Technologies (AGTC +6.63%) fell 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 revenue of $12.1 million, less than consensus of $13.1 million.
Blue Buffalo Pet Products (BUFF +2.35%) declined over 2% in after-hours trading after it reported a secondary stock offering of 14.3 million shares.
Farmer Brothers (FARM +0.57%) dropped nearly 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 23 cents, below consensus of 32 cents.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS +1.23%) climbed nearly 6% in after-hours trading after it was awarded a $54 million contract to provide five Marine Common Aircrew Trainers (MCATs) to the United States Marine Corps.
Weight Watchers International (WTW +1.27%) slid over 4% in after-hours trading after CEO James Chambers said he will resign, effective September 30.
Fate Therapeutics (FATE -1.82%) tumbled nearly 8% in after-hours trading after it filed a 5.25 million share stock shelf for holders.
Today’s Economic Calendar
6:00 NFIB Small Business Optimism Index
8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
1:00 PM Results of $12B, 30-Year Note Auction
2:00 PM Treasury Budget
Today’s Earnings here
Other…
today’s upgrades/downgrades from briefing.com
this week’s Earnings
this week’s Economic Numbers