9:05am (EST)
Futures were pointing towards a slightly higher open this morning, helped by optimism over a bailout package for Greece. The euro-zone nations agreed over the weekend to lend Greece 30 billion euro ($40 billion) though Greece still has to “ask” for the money for the plan to be activated.
The International Monetary Fund would contribute another 10 billion euro ($13.5 billion) if needed and the loans would carry interest rates below what private lenders had been demanding in recent days to hold Greek debt.
Of course, the main focus this week will be on earnings, which kicks off with Alcoa (AA, $14.39, down $0.48) after the close of trading today. Reports on inflation, retail sales, manufacturing and housing will also be released throughout the week..
A couple of stocks making a move before the bell: Palm (PALM, $5.16, up $0.51), which has reportedly put itself up for sale and is seeking bids as soon as this week, is up 45 cents to $5.61 while Boots & Coots (WEL, $2.35, down $0.03) is getting some action after Halliburton (HAL, $31.57, down $0.09) said it will buy the company for $3 a share, or $1.73 in cash and the rest in Halliburton stock.
As we head towards the start of trading, Dow futures are down 4 points to 10,943 while the S&P 500 futures have edged lower by 2 points to 1,191. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 futures are off by a point to 1,991. Futures were positive earlier this morning and have come down from those levels but we still think the market heads higher today.
We have a lot to cover this morning in our Members Area so let’s get to it.












Market Rebounds But Looks Weak
Monday, July 19th, 2010
12:20pm (EST)
The bulls are trying to hold onto today’s gains as the major indexes are slightly positive but are trading in a tight range. The market got some more bad news concerning the Housing sector, and there were a couple of mixed earnings announcements it is also digesting.
The National Association of Home Builders reported its seasonally adjusted housing market index fell to 14 in July, which was down from June’s reading of 16. Homebuilders’ confidence in the housing market is now at its lowest level in more than a year and will lead to a fresh round of debates over whether or not the economic recovery is slowing. To put this in perspective, a reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment about the housing market, and the last time the index was above 50 was in April, 2006.
Turning to earnings, Halliburton (HAL, $28.73, up $1.22) turned in a great quarter despite the uncertainty surrounding the future of offshore drilling. The company reported a profit of $480 million, or $0.53 a share, versus $262 or $0.29 a share, in the year earlier period. Analysts were looking for $0.37 a share. Revenue came in at $4.4 billion which was well ahead of forecasts for $4.1 billion.
Elsewhere, Hasbro (HAS, $38.91, down $0.59) came in with numbers of $0.29 a share, versus expectations of $0.24 a share. The company missed on their revenue numbers as they reported $739 million when the Street was looking for $748 million.
We mentioned in our Weekly Wrap last night the revenue numbers will be the main catalysts with earnings analysts will be looking for, and on that end a lot of companies are missing the mark.
As we head to press, the Dow is currently up 5 points to 10,103 while the S&P 500 is is down a half point and is at 1,064. The Nasdaq is higher by a 2 points and is at 2,181.
We have a lot to cover in our Members Area today including a NEW TRADE so we are a little early. Subscribers, check for the updates.
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Posted in Earnings, Market Commentary | Comments Off