Market News

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -11.3. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -17.8. Early indications suggest a bearish start to the trading day for stocks. Washington Mutual (WM) was downgraded by Banc of America today from Neutral to Sell and had its price target cut to $13 from $24. Biogen Idec (BIIB) announced that it will remain independent after it failed to receive any definitive offers for the company. Biogen's stock fell nearly 30% in after hours action and is a key drag on the Nasdaq futures this morning. The Retail Sales, PPI and weekly initial claims reports will be released at 08:30 ET. Each carries potential to be a market mover, unlike the Business Inventories report at 10:00 ET which won't cause much of a stir for traders.
 
8:31am ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -15.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -21.5. Futures slide on a number of economic reports. November PPI Ex food & energy rose 0.4% month over month, compared to the expected rise of 0.2%. November retail sales less autos rose 1.8%, compared to the consensus estimate that called for a rise of 0.6%. Jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 8 came in at 333K, while economist expected 335K claims. Prior to the reports, Lehman Brothers (LEH) reported earnings that topped expectations, but did not give futures a lift.
 
Australia and Japanese markets dropping. I'm not sure if it's because of Greenspan's comments.

Greenspan: Odds of a Recessions Are Rising, Economic Growth Is Getting Close to 'Stall Speed'

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says the odds the U.S. will fall into a recession are "clearly rising" and he believes economic growth is "getting close to stall speed."

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071213/greenspan_economy.html
 
8:30am ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: -12.5. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -15.0. Futures slide on the CPI data. Recently released, December core CPI (ex-food and energy) rose 0.3% month over month (consensus +0.2%). Total CPI rose 0.8% month over month (consensus +0.6%).
 
Gas Prices Spur Consumer Inflation
Friday December 14, 8:45 am ET
By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer Surge in Gasoline Prices Pushes Consumer Inflation Up by Largest Amount in More Than 2 Years

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Consumer inflation surged by the largest amount in more than two years in November, led by gasoline prices. The cost of clothing, airline tickets and prescription drugs also jumped.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071214/economy.html
 
08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -6.6. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -10.8. Futures continue to point to a negative start after a muted reaction to a pair of economic releases. The NY State Empire Manufacturing Index came In at 10.3, compared to the expected reading of 21.0. Third quarter current account balance was $-178.5B. Last quarter's current account balance was $-188.9B.
 
All sorts of indicators are saying that this market is going to continue to go down. The only positive that I see is that the financials and the banks are finally showing some relative strength. If the banks in particular give us a strong rebound in the next day or so, then this market could go significantly higher over the next week.
 
8:00am ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +2.1. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +9.8. Early indications suggest a slightly higher start for the S&P 500 and a modestly higher start for the Nasdaq in response to a number of earnings reports. Oracle is the biggest driver of the Nasdaq 100 futures after topping its earnings estimate of $0.27 by four cents. Meanwhile, FedEx beat its fiscal second quarter earnings expectation, but issued third quarter earnings guidance below the consensus estimate. Nike (NKE), Herman Miller (MLHR), and Accenture (ACN) all came in ahead of estimates
 
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bear Stearns Cos Inc (NYSE:BSC - News) on Thursday reported its first quarterly loss in the company's history, capping a fiscal year when the fifth-largest U.S. investment bank took a beating on bad bets on risky subprime mortgages.
Bear Stearns reported a net loss of $854 million, or $6.90 a share, for the quarter ended November 30. That compared with a year-ago profit of $563 million, or $4 a share.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/071220/bearstearns.html?.v=1
 
8:32am ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +6.2. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +16.0. Bear Stearns reports a sizeable loss of $6.90 per share, yet futures climb higher on the news. The consensus estimate called for a loss of $1.79. On the economic front, final third quarter GDP came in at the expected 4.9%. Final third quarter core PCE, an inflation measure, rose 2.0% quarter over quarter, higher than the expected 1.8% rise. Initial jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 15 came in at 346K, compared to the expectations of 335K claims. The futures market response was muted to the economic releases.​
 
Stocks Head for Higher Open on Report That Merrill May Get Cash Infusion From Singapore Fund

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street was poised to open higher Friday, encouraged by a better-than-expected profit gain at Research in Motion Ltd. and a report that Merrill Lynch could get a big cash infusion from a Singapore fund.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071221/wall_street.html
 
7:58am ET
[BRIEFING.COM] S&P futures vs fair value: +14.3. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +20.0. A considerably higher open is expected. Two news items, in particular, are behind the bullish bias. The first is Research In Motion's (RIMM) better than expected third quarter earnings report and fourth quarter guidance. The second item is a Wall Street Journal report that Merrill Lynch (MER) may be on the verge of receiving a $5 billion cash infusion from Temasek Holdings, a state-owned Singapore investment firm. As a reminder, today is a quadruple witching options expiration day with stock options, index options, index futures and single stock futures due to expire. Trading volume should be heavy as a result.
 
08:31 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +16.3. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +24.8. Futures gain a few points immediately following the Personal Income and Consumption report. Recently reported by the Dept. of Commerce, November income rose 0.4%, spending rose 1.1% and core-PCE increased 0.2%. Economists expected a 0.5% increase for income, a 0.7% increase for spending, and a 0.2% increase for core-PCE, which is the Fed's favored inflation indicator. In earnings news, Walgreens (WAG) topped expectations, while Circuit City (CC) posted a larger loss than expected.
 
Briefing.com
9:58AM Market View: Indices pause near resistance noted earlier (TECHX) : Noted resistance at 2675/2683 Nasdaq Comp, 1479/1480 S&P 500 and 13397/13410 Dow in early trade and have seen these levels hold on the initial test this morning (session highs 2681, 1479, 13401).
 
The Thrift Savings Plan will be closed on Tuesday, December 25th, in observance of Christmas Day. Transactions that would have been processed Tuesday night (December 25th) will be processed Wednesday night (December 26th), at Wednesday's closing share prices.
 
09:02 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +7.6. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.2. Futures hold positive bias. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that holiday sales appear to be coming in with decent, though modest, gains compared to last year. Once again, the fears of a consumer pullback were unfounded.
 
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