Stocks are indicated modestly lower Monday following another day of uninspiring stock news. About an hour before the opening bell on Wall Street, stock index futures indicate that the Dow might lose 60 or 70 points in early trading. The NASDAQ is set to open 5 or 10 points lower.
Shares of home improvement retailer Lowe's (LOW) fell after the company reported quarterly earnings of 33 cents, which topped analyst estimates by a nickel, but also guided estimates lower for the fourth quarter.
Target (TGT) said profits fell 24 percent from last year. At 49 cents per share for the quarter, results were in line with Street estimates. Citigroup (C) announced job cuts. Goldman Sachs (GS) said its top Chief Executives will forgo bonuses this year.
In economic news, the latest NY Empire State Index fell, as expected. The gauge of regional manufacturing index dropped to -25.4 in November, down from -24.2 the month before. Economists were looking for a decline to -26.
A report on industrial production is due out at 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time. Economists expect a .2 percent increase and a capacity utilization rate of 76.5 percent for October.
Bonds are little changed after the G20 wrapped up with no real solutions to the ongoing turmoil in the financial world. The benchmark ten-year Treasury bond gained 5/32nd and now yields 3.71 percent.
The dollar is steady, holding at 96.33 on the Japanese Yen. The euro edged up to 1.2653 against the US currency.
Stocks traded quietly overseas. Shares traded flat in Japan, with the Nikkei edging up .7 percent after economic data showed the country officially entered into recession. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped .2 percent. Major averages were little changed across Europe.
Not much action in the commodities markets either. Crude oil is down 40 cents to $56.60 a barrel. Gold edged down $2.00 to $740.1 an ounce.
Volume was relatively light in the options market Friday, even as investors in the equity market endured yet another very volatile trading session. It ended with a plunge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average during the final thirty minutes of trading. The industrial average finished down 338 points and off 425 points from its afternoon highs.
The CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX) jumped 6.48 to close at 66.31 and its best levels of the trading session. Trading in the options market was on the light side, however, with approximately 6.4 million puts and 6.2 million calls traded on the day.
Bullish trading picked up in Dell Computer (DELL). Shares bucked the bearish trend and moved higher ahead of an earnings report due out later this week. Heavy volume was seen in DELL's November call options. Bullish trading also surfaced in Maxim Integrated Products (MXIM), Mosaic (MOS), ISIS Pharmaceuticals (ISIS) and the SPDR Homebuilders Trust (XHB).
Lowe's (LOW) saw bearish trading Friday ahead of its earnings report due out Monday and a profit report from rival Home Depot (HD) on November 18. Bearish trading was also seen in Costco (COST), Symantec (SYMC), Harley Davidson (HOG) and, the Mini-NASDAQ Index (.MNX)
Frederic Ruffy
WhatsTrading.com
