{"id":8142,"date":"2014-12-05T08:43:26","date_gmt":"2014-12-05T13:43:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leavittbrothers.com\/blog\/?p=8142"},"modified":"2014-12-05T08:43:26","modified_gmt":"2014-12-05T13:43:26","slug":"before-the-open-dec-5-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.leavittbrothers.com\/?p=8142","title":{"rendered":"Before the Open (Dec 5)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning. Happy Friday. Happy Employment Numbers Day. <\/span>
\n The Asian\/Pacific markets closed mixed. China added another 1.32% to yesterday’s big move, and Hong Kong moved up 0.71%. Australia dropped 0.59%, and India fell 0.37%. Europe is doing great. Italy and Greece are up more than 2%, and Spain, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Belgium, Germany and France are up more than 1%. Russia is down 1.85%. Futures here in the States point towards a flat-to-up open for the cash market.
\n<\/span>
\n The dollar is up. Oil is down, copper is up. Gold and silver are up. <\/span>
\n It’s been a decent week so far. The market was weak on Monday and then has done well since. The S&P is up 4.36 points, and as long as the index doesn’t give those points back today, a seventh consecutive up week will be registered. The Dow has the same winning streak on the line. The Nas 100 has a 6-week winning streak, but is down 26 (0.60%) heading into today. The Russell’s weekly close the last six weeks has been virtually identical. The warnings come from the lagging small caps and the extent of the rally – this is the longest winning streak for the SPX since Oct\/Nov 2013.<\/span>
\n Here are the employment numbers\u2026<\/span>
\n unemployment rate: 5.8% (was 5.8% last month)
\n nonfarm payrolls: +321K (biggest gain since 2012)
\n private payrolls:
\n average workweek: unchanged at 34.6 hours
\n hourly wages: up 9 cents to $24.66
\n labor participation rate: <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>
\n October raised from 214K to 243K.
\n September raised from 256K to 271K.<\/span><\/span>
\n The market’s initial reaction was up…then S&P futures dropped 8.5 points…now they are recovering and suggesting an up open for the cash market. <\/span>
\n I continue to like the market, but the extent and consistency of the rally keeps the management of trades in a conservative camp. I am not giving positions much room to move against me. Instead I’m being content with 5-10% gains rather shooting for much bigger moves. <\/span>
\n Stock headlines<\/strong> from barchart.com…<\/span>
\n Tyson Foods (TSN -1.93%) was upgraded to ‘Conviction Buy’ from ‘Buy’ at Goldman Sachs.<\/span>
\n AMC Entertainment (AMC +1.02%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at B. Riley.<\/span>
\n IntercontinentalExchange (ICE +0.32%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at Citigroup.<\/span>
\n Thor Industries (THO -5.68%) was downgraded to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Buy’ at SunTrust.<\/span>
\n Big Lots (BIG -1.22%) reported a Q3 EPS loss of -6 cents, a bigger loss than consensus of -5 cents.<\/span>
\n Vodafone (VOD -1.04%) was upgraded to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ at Goldman Sachs.<\/span>
\n Cormorant Global Healthcare reported a 8.94% passive stake in Quotient (QTNT -0.17%).<\/span>
\n Fiat Chrysler (FCAU -2.51%) slid over 3% in after-hours trading after it filed to sell $2.5 billion of mandatory convertible securities due 2016.<\/span>
\n Gabelli reported a 12.37% stake in Cincinnati Bell (CBB -0.88%).<\/span>
\n Synaptics (SYNA -1.15%) soared over 7% in after-hours trading after it raised guidance on Q2 revenue view to $440 million-$460 million from $415 million-$450 million, above consensus of $433.12 million.<\/span>
\n Northrop Grumman (NOC -0.80%) announced a new $3 billion share repurchase authorization, and then the company was upgraded to ‘Conviction Buy’ from ‘Buy’ at Goldman Sachs.<\/span>
\n Ulta Salon (ULTA +0.85%) climbed over 5% in after-hours trading after it reported Q3 EPS of 91 cents, higher than consensus of 84 cents.<\/span>
\n Cooper Companies (COO -0.45%) dropped over 2% in after-hours trading after it reported Q4 EPS of $1.95, less than consensus of $2.03, and then lowered guidance on fiscal 2015 EPS view to $7.30-$7.70 from $8.20-$8.60, well below consensus of $8.24.<\/span>
\n American Eagle (AEO -3.83%) reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 22 cents, right on consensus, although Q3 revenue of $854 million was above consensus of $845.95 million.<\/span>
\n The Gap (GPS -0.10%) jumped over 2% in after-hours trading after it reported November same-store-sales of $1.72 billion, up 6% y\/y.<\/span>
\nEarnings and Economic Numbers<\/strong> from seekingalpha.com…<\/span>
\n Today’s economic calendar:
\n 8:30 Non-farm payrolls
\n 8:30 International Trade
\n 10:00 Factory Orders
\n 3:00 PM Consumer Credit<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>
\n Notable earnings before today’s open: BIG, BNS, GCO<\/span>
\n Notable earnings after today\u2019s close: none<\/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