It is a big day for ‘da bears today to see whether they can put up or shut up. As mentioned last night, I think it is extremely important for the bears to have some follow-through to the downside after yesterday’s key intraday reversal. So far, the market is relatively flat with the Dow Futures up 5 points, NASDAQ down 5 points and the S&P down about 2 points. Expect today’s Jobless Claims to have an impact on direction as well as, but to a lesser extent, House Price Index and the Leading Indicators report.
There is also another big batch of earnings reports coming out today with 3M (MMM), Amazon (AMZN), AT&T (T), American Express (AXP), Bristol Myers (BMY), Dow Chemical (DOW), McDonalds (MCD), Merck (MRK), and Schering Plough (SGP). But most importantly, Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) is reporting earnings, not because they can move the market, but because I really like their cheesecake and their ability to stay profitable in the future means that I can eat more of it!
By the way overnight Asian markets sold off within a range of 0.4% and 0.6% while the European markets are getting hammered at about a 1.5% clip.
Here are Today’s Trade Setups…
Long Setups: CNG, FHCO, FMD, VXX, PNFP
Short Setups: ATSG, CMTL, EOS, ETV, UNH