The market is slightly higher in early trading, after a relatively flat open. There were a flurry of companies reporting earnings this morning, and while the reports themselves were mostly mixed, the majority of the stocks involved are reacting positively to the news.
We know that how stocks react to the news is often more important than the news itself, especially in this case when the earnings report is for last quarter, but the stocks are often looking ahead.
Here are some of the companies that topped consensus expectations this morning:
- Schering-Plough (SGP)
- Merck (MRK)
- Archer-Daniels (ADM)
- Northrop Grumman (NOC)
- Emerson Electric (EMR)
- Automatic Data Processing (ADP)
- CME Group (CME)
But here are a handful of stocks that missed earnings estimates, but the stocks are still higher:
- UPS (UPS)
- Aflac (AFL)
- Avon Products (AVP)
- Dow Chemical (DOW)
- BP Plc (BP)
Asian markets were mostly lower overnight. The dollar is lower today, which is helping boost oi, gold, and commodities overall. The 10-year yield is higher to 2.82%. And the VIX is -2% lower to 44.45.
There is also a rumor going around that Citi (C) plans to use roughly $36.5 billion for loan modifications and new loans.
The President is talking about the proposed stimulus plan right now. My big worry is that the bill will be filled with too much pork that will do little to actually stimulate the economy, and merely result in higher interest rates, debt, and tax liabilities for Americans.
Trading comment: I didn't do much trading yesterday. The market has not really enjoyed the bounce I was hoping to see. If the SPX can't recapture its 50-day in the near-future, it may be time to look to add some more hedges to the portfolio. I still have my ag etf (MOO) and gold positions (GLD) on.
long MOO, GLD, SSO
