{"id":7846,"date":"2014-07-29T08:09:47","date_gmt":"2014-07-29T13:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leavittbrothers.com\/blog\/?p=7846"},"modified":"2014-07-29T08:09:47","modified_gmt":"2014-07-29T13:09:47","slug":"before-the-open-jul-29-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.leavittbrothers.com\/?p=7846","title":{"rendered":"Before the Open (Jul 29)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning. Happy Tuesday.<\/span>
\n The Asian\/Pacific markets closed mostly up. Hong Kong led with a 0.9% gain, followed by Japan and Korea (up 0.6%). Europe is currently mostly up. Russia, Prague, London, Germany, France, Spain and Italy are all doing well. Greece is down. Futures here in the States point towards an up open for the cash market.
\n<\/span>
\n The dollar is up. Oil and copper are down. Gold and silver are up. <\/span>
\n Yesterday the market was weak the first hour, but then all or most of the losses were recaptured. The indexes closed pretty close to unchanged and well off their lows. The unanswered questions we had coming into the day remained unanswered – nothing was resolved. <\/span>
\n The small caps are still lagging…several indicators lean a little to the downside…trading set ups are only so-so. There just isn’t a reason to trade aggressively here. <\/span>
\n From a psychology standpoint, the market tends to do well around FOMC days, and bearishness has definitely ramped up a bunch lately. Despite the technicals leaning to the downside, a sudden rally is not out of the question given the sentiment heading into the week.<\/span>
\n I think it’s dangerous to dig your heels in and have a strong opinion. Anything goes in the very near term. More after the open. <\/span>
\nStock headlines<\/strong> from barchart.com…<\/span>
\n Merck & Co. (MRK -0.31%) reported Q2 EPS of 85 cents, better than consensus of 81 cents.<\/span>
\n Aetna (AET +1.71%) reported Q2 EPS of $1.69, higher than consensus of $1.60.<\/span>
\n Eastman Chemical (EMN -0.05%) reported Q2 EPS of $1.92, above consensus of $1.84.<\/span>
\n Range Resources (RRC -0.57%) reported Q2 EPS of 36 cents, weaker than consensus of 40 cents.<\/span>
\n Masco (MAS -3.01%) climbed 6% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 adjusted EPS of 32 cents, stronger than consensus of 28 cents.<\/span>
\n Luxor Capital Group reported a 5.4% passive stake in Orbitz (OWW unch) .<\/span>
\n Herbalife (HLF +2.15%) fell over 10% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 EPS of $1.55, below consensus of $1.57.<\/span>
\n HealthSouth (HLS +1.21%) reported Q2 EPS of 81 cents with items, well above consensus of 47 cents, and then raised guidance on fiscal 2014 EPS view to $2.25-$2.31 from $1.86-$1.91, well above consensus of $1.91.<\/span>
\n Amkor Technology (AMKR +0.10%) jumped over 10% in after-hours trading after it reported Q2 EPS of 21 cents, higher than consensus of 15 cents.<\/span>
\n Lloyd Miller reported a 5.4% passive stake in Learning Tree (LTRE +1.28%) .<\/span>
\n CNO Financial (CNO +0.17%) reported Q2 EPS of 29 cents, weaker than consensus of 31 cents.<\/span>
\n W. R. Berkley (WRB -0.25%) reported Q2 operating EPS of 82 cents, stronger than consensus of 77 cents.<\/span>
\n Plum Creek Timber (PCL +0.32%) reported Q2 EPS of 31 cents, higher than consensus of 30 cents, but then lowered guidance on fiscal 2014 EPS view to $1.05-$1.25 from $1.30-$1.50, well below consensus of $1.39.<\/span>
\n Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH +1.11%) reported Q2 adjusted EPS of 58 cents, better than consensus of 57 cents.<\/span>
\nEarnings and Economic Numbers<\/strong> from seekingalpha.com…<\/span>
\n Today’s economic calendar:
\n FOMC meeting begins
\n 7:45 ICSC Retail Store Sales
\n 8:55 Redbook Chain Store Sales
\n 9:00 S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index
\n 10:00 Consumer Confidence
\n 10:00 State Street Investor Confidence Index
\n 1:00 PM Results of $35B, 5-Year Note Auction<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>
\n Notable earnings before today’s open: ACI, AET, AGCO, AIXG, AKS, ALLY, AMAG, AMG, ARW, AUDC, AVX, AXE, BP, CARB, CAS, CNX, CPLA, CRS, CVLT, CYNO, DIN, DSX, ECL, ENTG, ETN, ETR, FDP, FIS, FSS, GLT, GLW, GNC, GTI, HCA, HMC, HRS, HW, ICON, IP, IPGP, ITW, KLIC, LVLT, MDC, MDSO, MDXG, MHFI, MLM, MMC, MRK, MSO, NCI, NEE, NLSN, NMM, NOV, NYT, OSK, PCAR, PFE, POR, RAI, RYN, SAVE, SIRI, SNCR, ST, TLM, TRW, UAM, UBS, UBSI, UDR, UPS, UTHR, VSH, WDR, WM, WYNN, XYL, YNDX<\/span>
\n Notable earnings after today’s close: ACHC, ACMP, AEC, AEGN, AEGR, AFL, AJG, AMCC, AMGN, AMP, APC, APU, ARI, AXP, AXS, BGFV, BLDP, BOOM, BWLD, BXP, CALX, CAP, CBG, CBL, CEB, CEMP, CHMT, CHRW, CINF, CLD, CLMS, CPWR, CRAY, CSLT, CVD, DLR, DOX, DWA, EEFT, EQR, ESRX, EW, EXAM, EZPW, FARO, FBP, FISV, GAS, GNW, GPN, GPRE, HTA, HURN, IGT, INAP, INVN, IPHI, IVR, KIM, LNDC, MAR, MOVE, NATI, NCR, NEM, NEU, NFX, NTRI, NUVA, PEI, PLT, PNRA, QGEN, RBC, RGR, RKT, RNG, RNR, ROG, RPXC, RT, RUBI, SB, SLCA, SM, SQNM, TMH, TRN, TWTR, TX, UGI, ULTI, USNA, VRSK, VRTX, WNC, WSH, WTS, X, XCO, XPO<\/span>
\nOther<\/strong>…<\/span>
\ntoday’s upgrades\/downgrades<\/a> from briefing.com<\/span>
\nthis week’s Earnings<\/a><\/span>
\nthis week’s Economic Numbers<\/a><\/span>
\n