{"id":6326,"date":"2013-01-18T08:37:01","date_gmt":"2013-01-18T13:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leavittbrothers.com\/blog\/?p=6326"},"modified":"2013-01-18T08:37:01","modified_gmt":"2013-01-18T13:37:01","slug":"before-the-open-jan-18-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.leavittbrothers.com\/?p=6326","title":{"rendered":"Before the Open (Jan 18)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning. Happy Friday. Happy Options Expiration Day.<\/span>
\nThe Asian\/Pacific markets closed mostly up. China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan and Taiwan all posted solid gains. Europe is currently mixed. Greece, Austria and Belgium are up the most. Futures here in the States point towards a flat open for the cash market.
\n<\/span>
\nThe dollar is up. Oil is down, copper up. Gold is up, silver down.<\/span>
\nGE (GE) did well with earnings…the stock is up 3.8% in premarket trading.<\/span>
\nSchlumberger (SLB) beat expectations…the stock is flat before the open.<\/span>
\nMorgan Stanley (MS) posted a profit…stock is up 7%.<\/span>
\nSunTrust (STI) and State Street (STT) are trading flat after releasing earnings.<\/span>
\nJohnson Controls (JCI) is down 3%…its CEO said global demand was softer.<\/span>
\nUniversal Stainless (USAP) warned, but the stock is up 2% anyways. Go figure.<\/span>
\nConsol Energy (CNX) is up 1%. It said its gas production went up and its coal production down. <\/span>
\nFirst Horizon (FHN) posted much lower revenue and its loan loss jumped. The stock is down better than 2% before the open.<\/span>
\nResearch in Motion (RIMM) is up 6%.<\/span>
\nNuPathe (PATH) is up 20%. The FDA has approved its Zecuity drug (for migraines).<\/span>
\nIntel’s (INTC) Q4 earnings dropped 24%…the stock is down 6%.<\/span>
\nAll the indexes made higher highs yesterday, and volume picked up. Is this a sign of a top? We’ll see. The movement this year has been mostly slow, mostly small ranges, mostly grinding up instead of energetically moving up. As traders we never know what’s going to happen, so we are left playing the odds. When the market rallies day after day and is up a bunch since its last local bottom and we’re getting a few warnings, our job is to be more cautious, not more aggressive. In my opinion, this is the current situation. Buying breakouts now constitutes buying late, and the odds of false breakouts and a lack of follow through are higher than they were a couple weeks ago. I’m not saying you have to sell all your longs, and I’m definitely not saying to go short. I’m just saying to be a little more careful on the upside. More after the open.<\/span>
\nheadlines at Yahoo Finance<\/a><\/span>
\nheadlines at MarketWatch<\/a><\/span>
\ntoday’s upgrades\/downgrades<\/a><\/span>
\nthis week’s Earnings<\/a><\/span>
\nthis week’s Economic Numbers<\/a><\/span>
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